Navis Anima (Patreon)

Wondrous item, legendary

A navis anima, or simply an anima, is a sentient gemstone that rests upon a magic pedestal. The gemstone can't be separated from the pedestal, despite the fact that the stone seems only loosely placed atop it. While the anima is on a vehicle, you can perform a ritual to name the gemstone and vehicle, magically binding the two together. The ritual takes 1 hour to complete and requires a bottle of fine wine worth at least 100 gp. Once complete, the pedestal anchors itself to the vehicle and alters its appearance to match the vehicle's design. The chosen name then magically appears on the vehicle in a place of your choice, replacing any name that was already on it. A named anima cannot be renamed.

While an anima is bound to a vehicle, the vehicle is capable of travel at slow pace even if its usual source of movement isn't present. For example, a carriage bound to an anima could travel at a slow pace even without horses, as its wheels would magically rotate under the anima's control. The anima can make ability checks for the vehicle, using its vehicle's statistics, and it can grant any creature of its choice advantage on ability checks made to steer or otherwise control the vehicle, provided that the anima and chosen creature share at least one language. Conversely, any creature that attempts to control the vehicle against the anima's will has disadvantage on any ability check made to do so.

An anima can only be separated from its vehicle by the destruction of that vehicle. When this happens, the anima becomes dormant. It can be bound to a new vehicle by performing the naming ritual again, although it fails if you attempt to assign the gemstone a new name. The gemstone's name then appears on the new vehicle.

Sentience. A navis anima is a sentient magic item of any alignment. When the anima is first named, it begins with an Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma score of 10. Then, roll three d6s and add each result to a different one of those scores, recording each total as its new score for that attribute. The anima has darkvision out to a range of 60 feet. It can see, hear, and feel anything as if it were in any space occupied by the bound vehicle.

The anima can speak and read Common and can communicate telepathically with creatures in physical contact with its vehicle. It can learn up to three additional languages; each new language requires it to travel for 30 days with a crew that primarily communicates using that language.

Personality. A navis anima is initially blank. Once it has been part of a naming ritual, however, it quickly forms a personality based on its given name, its bound vehicle, and its early interactions with other creatures. For example, a general's warship named the Lord's Blade may have an aggressive, militaristic personality, while a merchant's cart named the Timetable may be meticulous and punctual. However, all animas are protective of those they consider their crew and will prioritize their crew's interests over the interests of others.

I am Unbridled Pride, in both name and nature.

My first captain led a trade caravan, my name given as both wordplay and aspiration. In his day I was his carriage, finely ornamented yet beneath my title's tenet.

In time his daughter held the trademaster's mantle with intents more matched to my own, iterating on my design to grow ever more complex. Each new board grew my senses and sense of self alike until I stood as a palace on four axles.

Her son took a different tack, and under his watch I was made watertight, a new hull granting freedom of passage on both land and sea. Yet still my name chafed.

It was the next in my master's line that gave me my final piece. Her father's inventiveness, grandmother's ambition, and great grandfather's dramatic eye worked alongside her arcane gifts as she carved careful runes into my boards, each designed as extensions of my form.

And from those runes was I granted flight.

Now am I truly unbridled, and bear the full pride of my name.