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 defeat Manwan Despon's pirate fleet and heavy galleons with impunity. 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.
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 penetrating the wooden hulls of any ship afloat in the Great Sea and inflicting heavy damage upon detonation. The inertial fuses can be replaced with a similar, delayed detonation fuse that allows the ship to pierce the hull and then detonate inside the ship, maximizing damage inflicted by the shell.
The ship itself is protected with a layer of 1/2" wrought steel plating that sits below a layer of 1" 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 creates this impregnability by creating a "spring and brace" system where the wooden plank takes the initial impact, and then transfers that to the steel plate, which being immovable, causes the wood plank to rebound, thus deflecting the cannonball harmlessly away from the ship. The ship is considered "semi-clad" because only a portion of the ship is armored with the protective steel subplating, and generally only those areas that, were they to take damage, might mortally endanger the ship. The plating extends from just above the lower gun deck to just below the waterline, protecting everything of importance on the ship, except the main masts.
As far as ammo is concerned, the ship sports a normal armament of cannonballs and powder for its 18 muzzel loading cannons, and upwards of 160 cartridge rounds for its six modified bronze, breach loading, cartridge fed, rifled cannons.
