Chariot of the Infinite Heavens

Chariot of the Infinite Heavens (Artifact ⬤⬤⬤⬤)

Repair: 4

One of the smallest and most common transport vehicle designs of the First Age, chariots of the infinite heavens (sometimes called sky chariots or skysleds for short) appear to be actual chariots, albeit absent a horse team in front and featuring vented thruster bulbs in place of wheels. Depending on the exact design, three or four support struts extend for landing and retract during flight. Of the thousands of these craft built in the First Age, barely 200 remain in the fleets of the Seventh Legion, with scattered handfuls found elsewhere in the world.

The pilot of a skysled stands in the front of the craft, directing its flight by tapping and sliding his fingers across a row of crystal controls. Flight status is conveyed through the flickering illumination that plays across the control panel. Enchantments in the craft lock pilot and all passengers designated by the pilot in a stabilizing field that prevents anyone from falling off (even if the craft turns completely upside down). Anyone can pilot one of these vessels, even mortals without access to Essence. As a deterrent to theft, however, many copies require a single mote to be fed into the controls at fixed intervals (usually once per day). Failure to supply the mote causes the engines to gradually power down, giving the thief enough time to land safely before the controls completely lock.

Speed: 39/80mph

Maneuverability: +2R (Lore 1)

Endurance: Requires a hearthstone from a two-dot (or better) manse plugged into the control panel to operate. Some models have security features as noted above. Requires maintenance every 20 hours of use, lest it suffer one unsoakable level of lethal damage per 10 hours in arrears.

Crew: 1/1

Cargo: Two passengers, plus their personal gear

Armor: 12L/18B

Health Levels: Ux10/Mx5/Cx4/Ix2/D

Weapons: Usually none. Variant models (also Artifact 4) mount a light implosion bow on a gimbaled mount for a gunner to fire, but the weight of this weapon reduces the craft’s Maneuverability to -2 and reduces Speed to 29/60mph.

Other Notes: Understanding a sky chariot’s crystal instrument panels requires knowledge of Old Realm, though characters who do not read this language can still attempt to pilot the craft at -2 Maneuverability. The pilot and passengers in one of these craft are treated as having 25% cover or 75% cover if attacked from below.