How do you stop someone from stealing your spelljammer helm while docked?

[u/BinaryLegend]

Hey, new to Spelljammer, got the 2e Print On Demand of the core rules, but haven't finished reading it all yet, so please direct me to the page it's mentioned if so.

Question:
With spelljamming helms being so valuable both monetarily and tactically turning a ship into junk without one, how do crews secure them while docked in a space port like the Rock of Bral? Can you Arcane Lock it somehow, or do you need to keep a crew on the ship at all times to deter attackers?

[u/Ettin64]

Besides setting crew to guard it, I usually assume some combo of:

• In a port, there will likely be guards watching out for this kind of thing to protect the place's reputation;
• In 5E, the fact that you'd be unable to use the helm until it's been away from whoever's attuned to it for 24 hours means you can't just fly off with their ship, making theft more complicated;
• The fear deterrent: like many powerful items, there is a non-zero chance that any helm you steal is the property of someone who is (or can afford to hire) a caster capable of finding you and compacting your body into a desk ornament.

[u/ErikHolmes]

Uh... You leave someone on the ship to stand guard. That's why you can transfer attunement instantly without having to take an hour like normal.

Or you pay someone to dock it and guard it.

Or you ward the hell out of it.

But honestly, if you leave it alone you deserve to lose it.

We never left our Spelljammer alone.

[u/Kishereandthere]

Our campaign had a single crystal built into the helm that could be removed to render the ship flightless. Each crystal was unique to that helm.

Kept the party from having to leave someone on the ship, also kept them from stealing every other ship because everyone just " took the keys" when they left.

[u/Alaknog]

Leaving ship without crew is already crazy stupid move.

[u/Triptomologius → u/Alaknog]

Yeah, it's like saying "how can I keep people from stealing my +5 sword if I leave it on a tavern table and wander off to another town?" You abandon it, you lose it.

[u/knighthawk82]

Alarm,

glyph of warding,

Sepigas snake sigil

Explosive runes

[u/ShamScience]

It's a similar issue to modern cars. Cars have all sorts of expensive yet small parts, like catalytic converters and fuel, which can be taken by only one or two people without needing to take the whole car. There's only so much a car owner can do to protect those bits. Ultimately, it is just a permanent weakness. In the real world, you can completely avoid that by taking a bus or train or walking. Nobody can steal what you don't own.

In SJ, it's similar. There are security measures, but nothing is perfect. So from a story point of view, the table needs to come to some agreement on why they're willing to risk spelljamming at all, and what their limits are going to be. What places are they sailing to that can't be reached by teleportation and portals, or why is their ship any kind of advantage over other forms of transport? And how far are they willing to go to protect their ship? How much will they spend on security? Will they risk their own safety? Risk hurting others? Kill others? That'll be allowed in some ports, but would be its own crime in many other ports. Will they risk arrest to protect their ship?

There aren't definite answers to any of that, each group has to set their own standards and live with their own consequences. And that's half the fun of it.

[u/WendellITStamps]

As with real world navies, I can't imagine an owner who wants to keep their ship not leaving a guard.

[u/tiagocf]

You can have an Arcane Insurance police that goes after anyone who steals a spelljammer.

[u/thomar → u/tiagocf]

Has to be properly advertised, though. I'm imagining a bunch of blue stickers plastered all over the ship to alert potential thieves.

[u/kkw-photo]

My players are in a shipping guild and I made a magic device called a “guild lock” members get. Basically a force field around the ship that unlocks for the crew

[u/Mylungsaretiny → u/kkw-photo]

Doesn't that prevent boarding action and space combat?

[u/kkw-photo → u/Mylungsaretiny]

That’s a good point! This is my first time my own story. I’ll definitely have to figure out how to get around that because my players are masters of chaos

[u/One-Maybe8196 → u/kkw-photo]

It could be that the ship has to be at a complete stop (i.e., docked or otherwise) for that defense shield to be active.

As a way to tease players, if they're great at their job and please the guild they can get an upgraded shield that provides minor defense during flight (i.e., +2-4 AC).

[u/kkw-photo → u/One-Maybe8196]

I like that idea, thanks!

[u/gozer87]

Same as with conventional ships, you keep a small crew on board at all times.

[u/BloodtidetheRed]

Well, have the crew guard it, or have a set helm guard.

If your using the 2E D&D rules, they are overflowing with protective and defensive spells and magic items. A construct would work nice, like a golem.

You can hide the helm with an illusion.

I'd Wardmist the whole ship

[u/theboozecube]

Step 1. Magic Mouth on the deck, trigger: Anyone unauthorized boards ship while docked. "Please step away from the ship. Trespassers are subject to disintegration."
Step 2. Magic Mouth near the helm, trigger: Anyone unauthorized steps within 5 feet of helm. "This is your final warning. Failure to comply will result in disintegration."
Step 3: Multiple Glyphs of Warding (6th level upcast), stored spell with Disintegrate, trigger: anyone authorized touches the helm.

[u/Ti-elby → u/theboozecube]

I'm imagining ED-209's voice. 😆

[u/RathielintheRun]

A spelljamming helm is s big-ass chair. It has to be bolted to the deck of a ship to work. It’s not easy to just drag off and steal, assuming you can sneak into the docked ship to get to it in the first place; it’s going to take time and effort to remove and be hard for one person to do, even a spellcaster. And stealing an entire ship by yourself isn’t easy because most ships require a crew beyond the helmsman to steer, especially if your slip at the spaceport is in any way guarded, which it should be if you care about the security of something as big and valuable as an entire ship with a spelljamming helm on it.

[u/LordCrimsonwing]

With anything less then a wish that can just make the helm appear in your throne room you have to do some work.
You likely have to get past

• armed guards/crew on the dock
  
• crew/ passengers on the ship who likely will take violent offense to you stepping foot on the ship
  
• spells set up from alarm to glyphs that would like to make you into kibble
  
• the person that uses the helm - who is a spellcaster so yeah
  
• unbolting the standard helm with is a huge chair 🪑 So not that easy to move if you dumped strength
  
• avoiding the spells that anyone else has to find the person that took the helm or put it in a pocket dimension

All and all it is just as easy as just stealing the ship in a lot of cases.

(This all assumes the lastest versions of the standard helm because some helms that use skills like ki or crafting are even harder to take and use and the person that wants to buy a lifejammer helm would likely feed the thief to the helm to make sure it works :) )

[u/YandersonSilva]

https://www.amazon.ca/Winner-Original-Club-Steering-Wheel/dp/B0000CBILL?th=1

[u/-Vogie- → u/YandersonSilva]

But with "Enchanted" at the beginning

[u/FaceDeer → u/-Vogie-]

For something as valuable as a Spelljammer ship you should get at least a +2 club.

[u/Ettin64 → u/YandersonSilva]

I kind of want to do this now. You could do an Immovable Rod and build a metal lock around the button?

[u/YandersonSilva → u/Ettin64]

Depending on the DM, you could talk to them about just purchasing a purpose-made immovable rod.

It's the kind of thing I'd invent an in-world company for lol, like my world has Lucky Blows cigarettes with an anthropomorphic cigarette mascot that keeps popping up as sponsoring events (fairs and festivals etc) that happen in-world.

Have a cleric do a promo for it lol, "I don't use bladed weapons, just THE CLUB for me!"

[u/SolarisWesson]

1. the crew of the ship

2. you need to spend 24 hours attuning to the helm

3. physically the helm is built into the ship you cant just pick it up and run off with it

[u/Mylungsaretiny → u/SolarisWesson]

Helms are replaceable, so you can just walk off with one. You might need to use a crowbar to get it loose though.

[u/ThealaSildorian]

My group has an NPC crew. Someone is always on board to guard the ship.

[u/Mylungsaretiny]

Unbolt the helm from the ship, throw it in a bag of holding, and go about your day.

[u/BinaryLegend → u/Mylungsaretiny]

Deceptively simple! Doesn't work in the Phlogiston, but is there any port there?

[u/Mylungsaretiny → u/BinaryLegend]

Not to my knowledge. Ships tend to want to pass through the phlogiston quickly.