Skyship: Serenity
Cap'n Mal wasn't always too pleased with his crew, but he had an abiding love for his ship and the freedom she represented. The skyship could fly passengers and cargo almost anywhere for almost any reasonable price. If times got tight, she even served as the perfect getaway vehicle when things got out of hand. And they seemed to, these days. Truth is, maybe he was the source of some of the troubles, but not all of them. Could be just bad luck. Or could be some of the people on his ship, but Cap'n Mal felt it was his responsibility to take care of them -
Jayne, the warforged fighter, with timbers for muscles and armor plating for skin, Jayne was a fighting machine more powerful than many men, but with a heart of pure, cold iron and fists to match. He could get beat up from time to time but someone on board would always fix him up. Well, most of the time.
Kaylee, the sweet artificer could repair most of whatever damage Jayne took from one of his frequent barfights. She even kept the skyship running when it was well past due for replacement parts and more reinforced enchantments. Mal always kept promising her that they could get some soon, but it never seemed soon enough to her.
Simon Tam, trained in the healing arts, could fix most any of the wounds of the crew, he even helped out occasionally on Jayne, when some parts he could work on went bad. He was a decent enough fellow but still consumed with the idea of protecting his sister from enemies who had very nearly broken her mind and body.
River Tam had been “trained” to tap into powers many other psions would envy. They very nearly drove her mad. The gifts had definitely not been wanted and there was a terrible cost to them. Only time would tell if those gifts would ever bring her anything but trouble...
So, continuing in the same vein, anyone else wanna take a stab at other characters? A campaign? I like the idea of there being “points of light” out in the vast darkness of Eberron for the ship and crew to have adventures in.
Captain Dylan Hunt was a loyal soldier of Galifar before civil war shattered it into five smaller kingdoms. For his exemplary service, he was awarded an experimental ship prototype that was the precursor to the modern airship. During a mission in Xen’drik, his best friend and first mate, Rhade, betrayed him. His treachery killed the crew and nearly Dylan as well. While they battled each other, the ship was caught in a manifest zone where time slowed to a crawl. He was trapped outside of Eberron’s timestream until Beka and her crew freed him and his ship. 103 years later, he now fights to restore Galifar to its former glory.
Beka Valentine is a headstrong, no-nonsense cargo ship captain (and smuggler), very protective of her crew, and has little respect for rules and formal regulations. She used her own smaller airship to pull the Andromeda from the planar sinkhole (planning to sell it) and brought them back to a present they do not recognize. She is now the first mate and pilot of Andromeda, and a loyal friend to Dylan, guarding him against treachery and stupid decisions.
Harper is a genius artificer, good-natured but often egocentric and childish. He always seems to get in trouble trying to pull off get-rich-quick schemes, most often of Beka’s planning. His is soft heart though, as he is in love with the avatar of Andromeda’s elemental. He hates most half-orcs and shifters with a passion.
Trance Gemini is a mystery, even to her friends. She appears to be a purple skinned tiefling bard with a tendency to predict future events with disturbing accuracy. She is always cheerful and ready to help, even seeming to be without guile. But there is a depth to her eyes that speak of ageless wisdom and power. She serves as the ship’s medical officer. (She is actually an avatar of the greatest of the moons of Eberron.)
Andromeda is the ship’s core air elemental that powers and controls the ship. There is a bond between her and her captain that transcends the physical. She is the air he breathes.
Rommie, warforged avatar of the elemental, is an autonomous construct that houses a shard of the elemental’s soul. Built by Harper, she is a warforged that looks like a human woman made of metal, wood, and stone.
Rev Bem is a walking paradox. He is an unusually intelligent shifter invoker of the Binding Flame, who fights to tame his inner beast while walking the path that persecuted his people in the past. He serves as the ship’s counselor.
Tyr is a half-orc mercenary of an exterminated tribe. Selfish and smart, he always plots his actions carefully, and the only person he is completely loyal to is himself. He serves as the ship’s weapon’s officer.
My current character is similar in temperament and history with the above story. She is captain of the skyship Clarion's Call (another ship from the series) with a fire mephit as her familiar and avatar of her ship.
Humans and demihumans, wrapped in twenty thousand, five hundred tons of floating metal and stone... all alone in the night.
It can be a dangerous place, but it's our last best hope for peace.
This is the story of the last of the floating fortresses. The year is 998. The name of the place is Babylon 5.
These are the voyages of the elemental vessel Enterprise.
Its continuing mission: to explore strange new lands, to seek out new life and old civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before.