Anders shrugs and says with a small smile, "I've not used one before, but I think I get the general thrust of it. At the very least it should help with my reach."
Threadvine asks, "So how would you like to approach the tree? I would see it as mainly a scouting mission with you pulling back if you find anything particularly dangerous, so we can bring more of the crew to bear or leave. "
"I completely agree. Were I to sacrifice my remaining spellcasting, we could literally land the wasp on it to give us a ready escape craft. Or would it be better for us to be lowered on ropes?"
[quote pid="54182" dateline="1629163684"] "I completely agree. Were I to sacrifice my remaining spellcasting, we could literally land the wasp on it to give us a ready escape craft. Or would it be better for us to be lowered on ropes?"
[/quote]
[[OOC: Under our 5e ruleset using a helm does not consume your spellslots entirely like earlier versions. The slots are only consumed for increased speed or maneuverability. For ease of reference here are the rules for take offs and landing: Landing: All ships can land; though some do it better. To begin, spelljamming ships slow down as they approach a planet’s gravity well. In doing so, the ship must spend a certain amount of time slowing to approach the planet’s surface. Once it nears, the ship may land on the surface, if it is capable of doing so, in 1 minute. A ship without the proper landing gear for the surface intended makes a Crash Landing. Take-off: This functions similar to landing in reverse. First, 1d8 is rolled to determine how long takes for the helm to warm up and the ship to prepare for launch. If a quick take-off was anticipated, roll 2d8 and take the lower value. The result is the number of minutes it takes for the ship to be ready to launch. If the helm never stopped operating between landing and take-off, this time is 1 minute. Once ready, the ship takes off and can travel at the In Atmosphere rate until the gravity well of the planetoid is reached. During warm-up, ships are considered unpowered.
]]
Threadvine's eyebrows raise and he says, "It hadn't occured to use the wasp as a lander for this. That probably is a good idea, and we can drop some lines down to tie off to the ship once you are landed in case we need to pull you and the wasp out in case you need to leave in less than a couple minutes."
[[I don't know if this is a stupid idea or not but if someone stayed on the helm of the Wasp and flew it around the tree, would it be quicker for us to board and get away than needing to wait for the Wasp to depart. Or maybe it would be easier to have the Riposte do the flying around then tow us away. Then we don't have to worry about the warm up time, etc.]]
[[OOC: Not a stupid idea at all. It is basically what Threadvine is suggesting above: drop lines down to be tied to the wasp from the Riposte once the ship is landed (so as not to restrict movement during landing). Then if you need a quick out you just have to get aboard and give the signal and the Riposte will drag the wasp (and you with it) off the tree and into free space.]]
[[ Sorry. I didn't realize you meant the Riposte would be circling the area to stay close the wasp. It sounded like he was suggesting the wasp would be docked with the Main ship.]]
"That sounds like a perfect idea. We will do a few fly-bys over the tree to see if anything is revealed, from a bit safer duistance. Then we can scope out a landing spot and land the wasp. The Riposte will then toss down tow cables, and we will connect them before leaving the wasp to explore. That way we have a rescue in the form of getting towed off, and the Riposte can provide covering fire."
