Invictus Maneo

The Invictus Maneo (Latin for "I am unconquered") is a Semi-Clad Heavy Galleon in the service of the kingdom of Grootwand and is the only ship like it on all of Offworld. It is a top secret ship, designed, built and set sail with the singular purpose to defend the kingdom of Grootwand against pirate fleets and troublesome enemies that other ships struggle to defeat. Due to the incredible threat that this ship poses, both to Grootwand (should its secret ever get out) and the other nations on the Great Sea, it's only ever brought out of dock for special circumstances where it's exceptional firepower and survivability are essential for winning a battle. The ship itself has only been floated against hostile ships a handful of times, and each of those involved encounters with pirate fleets, especially those led by Despon.

Origins

The Invictus had long desired to deal with their most problematic pirate problems in their early days, and especially later on with the rise of Manwan Despon, the Pirate King, as well as the thief kingdom of Kaspar. It needed a ship that could conquer anything on the seas without a large monetary investment, or the need for a large number of ships, which required a large amount of manpower, none of which Grootwand had, either then, or now. 30 years prior to its use in the events of Troubled Waters, a group of five stoic adventurers, racers who were participating in The Race of Offworld arrived by sea into the land of Grootwand on their way west, and wintered over in the capital city of ReusBerg, as it was already very late in the year. However, come spring, and having fallen in love with the city (as well as several beautiful young ladies there), the men decided to stay on permanently and use their combined skills to earn a living.

Among their number was a naval engineer, skilled in building ships, especially wooden ones, and knew many of the most modern, and even the best classic methods for large scale wooden construction, as well as the blending of modern and classic technology. The second was a military weapons expert and historian, skilled in the construction and history of both modern, and classic weaponry. The third was a machinist who specialized in classic "golden age" machine shops, and classic steam or water powered machinery. The fourth was a steel worker who knew all the modern and classic metal making and forging techniques. And the last was an artillery man, skilled in combat and tactical arms. This "perfect storm" of skill sets quickly came to the attention of King Itanium, the ruling monarch at the time, mostly due to rumors of the incredible tools and other equipment they'd created while working for local employers.

With their fame having spread across the city, and even to the palace, the king called them before him, and after much conversation, a plan was hatched to use their skills to build a super ship that could take on anything that the pirates, or the other kingdoms, could throw at them. Thus was born the Invictus Maneo, a wooden super ship that no other nation or hostile force could match. After much experimentation, design and planning, the keel of the ship was laid down in the 7th year of King Itanium (23 years before the events of Troubled Waters), and finished in his 11th year, and was successfully built in total secrecy. Many within Grootwand know of the mysterious ship that always stays in port and seemingly never sails. But only a handful know of its secrets, or the full measure of what it is capable of, and that is a secret that Grootwand wishes to keep at all costs. It is also the only one of its type and class, being that its construction and arming costs are upwards of six times that of a normal galleon type warship.

Armaments

For all intents and purposes, to the casual observer, the Invictus Maneo is a standard four deck, 24 gun three masted galleon with a mixture of 6 and 12lb cannon. However, under that innocent exterior lies a weapons system that is unrivaled in all the Great Sea. The ship itself sports a normal selection of 6 and 12lb muzzle loading bronze cannon capable of engaging targets at ranges between half and one mile. However, hidden in among those cannon are a set of six bronze cannons that have been specially converted to breach loading, cartridge fed, rifled cannons with high explosive tapered shells tipped with inertial fuses that can engage targets at ranges up to 5 miles. These shells are fully capable of severely damaging the wooden hulls of any ship afloat in the Great Sea upon detonation. The inertial fuses can, in turn, be replaced with a similar, delayed detonation fuse that allows the shell to pierce the hull and then detonate inside the ship, maximizing the damage it can inflict on the target.

The ship itself is protected with a layer of 1/2" wrought steel plating that sits below a layer of 1" wood planking that covers the steel plating and hides it from view. The combination of wood and metal, in turn, creates a barrier that is impregnable by all standard muzzle loading cannons in use on the sea. It impregnability is created by a "spring and brace" effect where the wooden plank acts like a spring as it takes the initial impact of the cannonball, and then transfers that energy to the steel plate underneath which, being immovable, causes the wood plank to rebound, thus deflecting the cannonball harmlessly away. The ship is considered "semi-clad" because only a portion of the ship is armored with the protective steel sub-plating, and generally only those areas that, were they to take damage, might mortally endanger the ship. The steel plating extends from just above the lower gun deck to just below the waterline, protecting everything of importance on the ship, except the masts and main deck.

As far as ammo is concerned, the ship sports a normal armament of cannonballs and powder to supply its 18 muzzle loading cannons with ammunition, and upwards of 160 cartridge rounds for its six modified bronze, breach loading, cartridge fed, rifled cannons.

Known Engagements

The ship is only known to have partaken in two engagements so far in its 19 years of service. The first was during a battle of extermination against the Kensian Pirates of the second year of the reign of King Vejulus, and against Manwan Despon during the events of Troubled Waters. Aside from those two engagements, and periodical training cruises, the ship remains in port year round to protect its secrets from prying eyes, and to safeguard the ship should it ever be needed in an emergency to protect the kingdom and its fleets, serving Grootwand as the iconic super weapon of its time.