Sunchaser

The Sunchaser was a flying warship operated by the The Chosen during the Under the Bus campaign. It served both as a military vessel and as a means of transporting the Chosen and their allies over long distances.

The ship became closely associated with the adventuring party after the Chosen used it to rescue them from the gladiatorial arena in Toreon. It subsequently transported the party on several major expeditions and became an important mobile base of operations.

Known Characteristics

The surviving campaign records establish that the Sunchaser was:

• A flying warship, rather than merely a civilian or exploratory airship.
• Large enough to carry the adventuring party together with substantial numbers of Chosen personnel.
• Capable of making long-distance journeys, including flights of several days or more across the continent and over the ocean.
• Capable of operating over the ocean and remaining airborne while people were lowered beneath the ship for underwater reconnaissance.
• Armed well enough to participate in combat and defend itself against attackers.
• Capable of operating with a significant crew of soldiers and sailors.
• Equipped to function as a mobile base for extended expeditions.

No surviving campaign source currently establishes the Sunchaser's exact dimensions, construction, propulsion system, speed, crew requirements, armament, cargo capacity, hit points, AC, or other formal game statistics. These should not be reconstructed from generic D&D airship rules unless a campaign source specifically establishes them.

Rescue of the Party

The Sunchaser was first encountered by the party during their imprisonment in Toreon.

The party had been forced into a gladiatorial arena while starving, weakened, blinded, and without their equipment. During their battle against four stone golems, Marcus and four Chosen soldiers arrived from above to rescue them. Marcus used his Horn of Valhalla to summon berserkers to distract the golems while ropes were lowered to the prisoners. As the party was hauled upward, they discovered that the large dark shape above them was an airship.

The Sunchaser and its crew then provided covering fire and magical support while the party escaped the arena. The rescued adventurers were taken below decks until the ship was safely away from Toreon.

The Sunchaser was under the command of Eritrea, one of the remaining Founders of the Chosen. At the time, it had recently returned to the Tower of Plinth after the end of the Chosen's campaign against the orcs at Trondhammen. Eritrea's ship had sustained damage during the escape and required repairs.

Among the people aboard during the rescue were:

• Eritrea, captain
• Marcus
• Jayme
• Orinder
• Brance
• Demetrius
• A substantial complement of Chosen soldiers

Demetrius was aboard because he had been operating undercover in Toreon as a Chosen agent. He revealed his identity to the party only after the rescue.

Expedition to Aegea

Eritrea subsequently agreed to take the party to the ruins of Aegea aboard the Sunchaser.

The expedition was undertaken in search of The Quest for the Cure, a magical historical text believed to have survived the destruction and flooding of Aegea. The Sunchaser carried the party, Eritrea, Marcus, Jayme, Orinder, Brance, and a full complement of Chosen soldiers.

The journey to the region where Aegea was believed to have stood took just under ten days by air. Once they reached the area, the ship was brought low over the ocean so that the occupants could search for the submerged ruins.

The party devised an unusual method of using the Sunchaser as a search platform. Chosen and party members were given Water Breathing and Endure Elements, tied to ropes, and lowered beneath the flying ship while it traveled over the ocean. The water in the region averaged approximately 100 feet deep, allowing them to search the seabed for the ruins of Aegea.

The expedition ultimately located the underwater ruins.

After returning from Aegea, the Sunchaser carried the party back toward the Tower of Plinth, where the Chosen continued their investigation into the plague.

Journey to Godsmount

Following the discoveries at Aegea, the party again used the Sunchaser as their primary means of transportation.

The ship carried the party, a full complement of Tim's followers, Marcus, Brance, Orinder, and Jayme north toward Godsmount. The journey took six days.

Because Godsmount contained dangerous dead-magic and wild-magic areas, the party chose not to risk the Sunchaser in the mountain itself. They left the ship behind while they explored on foot, with Brance placed in charge of the ship and most of Tim's followers remaining aboard. A prearranged signal was established so that the ship could provide emergency assistance if necessary.

Damage and Repairs

The Sunchaser sustained significant damage during the escape from the events surrounding Toreon and the subsequent return journey.

Marcus reported that the crew had been able to make temporary repairs while the ship was moving, but that a more complete assessment and additional repairs would need to be performed. When the Sunchaser reached Darktree, the ship was expected to spend several days there taking stock of its condition before returning to the Tower of Plinth for further repairs.

The ship was also damaged during the later werewolf conflict. By the end of that sequence, Eritrea and the Sunchaser's crew had been killed. The surviving Chosen aboard the ship subsequently returned to the Tower of Plinth.

Change of Command

Following the deaths of Eritrea and the Sunchaser's crew, Quentin was left as the last surviving Founder of the Chosen.

Quenín promoted Tim and Marcus to Senior Chosen, a rank described as equivalent to Founder status despite neither having been an original Founder.

He then appointed Tashiro Sunshine Eastforest as the new captain of the Sunchaser.

This marks an important transition in the Sunchaser's history: the ship ceased to be primarily associated with Eritrea and became part of the party's continuing operations under the new generation of Chosen leadership.

Later Operations

Under Tashiro's command, the Sunchaser continued to serve as a mobile base for the Chosen and adventuring party.

It was used for long-distance travel, reconnaissance, transportation of Chosen personnel, and expeditions into dangerous regions. The ship could remain behind while smaller groups operated independently, but could also be summoned or repositioned when the party required assistance.

The Sunchaser was particularly valuable because the party's activities increasingly ranged far beyond the immediate vicinity of the Tower of Plinth.

Crew

The surviving records establish several individuals who served aboard the Sunchaser at various points:

Captains

• Eritrea — original known captain; Chosen Founder.
• Tashiro Sunshine Eastforest — became captain after the death of Eritrea and her crew.

Notable Personnel

• Marcus — recurring member of the Sunchaser's crew and later Senior Chosen.
• Orinder — traveled aboard the ship on several major expeditions.
• Jayme — traveled aboard the ship and contributed pre-Fall maps of the Aegea region.
• Brance — served aboard the ship and was at one point left in command while the party explored Godsmount.
• Demetrius — was aboard during the rescue from Toreon and subsequently traveled with the party.
• Tim's followers — later traveled aboard the ship in significant numbers.
• Numerous Chosen soldiers and sailors.

The exact number of permanent crew members is not currently established. References to a "full complement" and to "several dozen soldiers" establish that the ship could carry a substantial military complement, but do not provide a definitive crew roster or capacity.

Notable Uses

The Sunchaser served several distinct roles during the campaign:

1. Military vessel — participated in the rescue from Toreon and exchanged fire with hostile forces.
2. Long-distance transportation — carried the party and Chosen personnel across large portions of the world.
3. Oceanic expedition platform — carried the party to the submerged ruins of Aegea.
4. Underwater search platform — allowed people to be lowered beneath the ship while searching the ocean floor.
5. Mobile Chosen base — provided a secure location for personnel who remained behind while expeditionary groups operated elsewhere.
6. Emergency extraction platform — could provide aerial support and extraction for Chosen operating on the ground.
7. Military transport — carried substantial numbers of Chosen soldiers and, later, Tim's followers.

Campaign Significance

The Sunchaser represents the Chosen's ability to project power and personnel far beyond the Tower of Plinth. Its importance increased as the party became involved in increasingly dangerous and geographically distant events.

For the party, it effectively became a mobile headquarters, connecting their adventuring activities to the larger Chosen organization.

Its history also mirrors the changing leadership of the Chosen: it began under the command of one of the original Founders, Eritrea, survived her death and the loss of its original crew, and subsequently passed into the command of Tashiro as the next generation of Chosen leaders assumed responsibility.

Source Notes

The surviving campaign material does not currently establish:

• Exact dimensions
• Construction materials
• Method of flight
• Maximum speed
• Altitude limits
• Crew requirements
• Armament
• Armor Class
• Hit points
• Damage thresholds
• Cargo capacity
• Passenger capacity
• Exact number of crew
• Exact date or circumstances of the ship's construction
• Original owner before its service under Eritrea
• Whether the Sunchaser was built by the Chosen or acquired from another source

These details should remain unknown until additional campaign material establishes them.