The airships in The Evergreen Realms are powered through magic known as spelldriving. And those who employ this magic are called spelldriver. Like any arcane path, anyone can learn to be a spelldriver, but very few have the ability to master its techniques. This article outlines how spelldriving works and how characters can learn the requisite proficiencies to spelldrive their own airships.
Spelldriving Proficiency
To become a spelldriver, a character must be proficient with a new tool proficiency called
spelldriving. In order to become proficient in spelldriving, the character must have the ability to cast at least one 1st level spell. Characters can take the proficiency as part of character creation, replacing any tool proficiencies made available through their racial, class, or background features. Proficiency with spelldriving allows the character to add their proficiency bonus to any ability check involved with the airship itself. The spelldriving proficiency also grants the character the spelldriving feature, described below.
The Art of Spelldriving
When a character becomes proficient in spelldriving, they can exchange the magical energy that they use to fuel their spells to create spelldriving points, which allows them to control the ships and create a variety of special effects via modes.
Spelldriving Ability
A spelldriver uses the same ability for spelldriving that they do for their magical abilities. For example, wizards use Intelligence as their spelldriving ability, clerics use Wisdom as their spelldriving ability, and so on. Spelldrivers do not need a focus to use spelldriving abilities.
Spelldriving Points
As a bonus action on the character’s turn, they can expend one spell slot, or expend a single use of a spell if the spell is gained through a racial feature or feat, and gain a number of spelldriving points equal to the slot or spell’s base level to their spelldriving point bank. Note that expending spells in this way does not create the normal effects for the spell. A spelldriver may have as many spelldriving points in their spelldriving point bank as determined by their character level. See "Spelldriving Point Bank Maximums" below. A character's spelldriving point bank is emptied, and all unused spelldriving points wasted, at the end of a long rest.
For example, a character who can normally cast faerie fire, a 1st-level spell, through one of their racial traits can expend the spell to convert it into 1 spelldriving point. And if that character expended darkness to convert it to spelldriving points, they would gain 2 spelldriving points. As normal, the spelldriver regains use of those spell slots when they complete a long rest and they lose all unused spelldriving points they have banked.
Spelldriving Point Bank Maximums
A spelldriver can never have more spelldriving points in their spelldriving point bank than shown on the table for the character’s level
| Level |
Max Points |
|
Level |
Max Points |
| 1st |
2 |
|
11th |
11 |
| 2nd |
2 |
|
12th |
12 |
| 3rd |
3 |
|
13th |
13 |
| 4th |
4 |
|
14th |
14 |
| 5th |
5 |
|
15th |
15 |
| 6th |
6 |
|
16th |
16 |
| 7th |
7 |
|
17th |
17 |
| 8th |
8 |
|
18th |
18 |
| 9th |
9 |
|
19th |
19 |
| 10th |
10 |
|
20th |
20 |
Spelldriving Modes
Characters proficient in spelldriving can use their spelldriving points to drive, control or defend the airships via special effects known as
Spelldriving Modes . The spelldriving modes available to spelldrivers are listed below. So long as you are proficient in spelldriving, you know all the modes available and do not need to learn or prepare new modes. As long as you have the required number of spelldriving points in your spelldriving point bank, you may use any spelldriving mode. A ship cannot gain the benefits from two or more instances of the same spelldriving mode. Spelldriving modes count as spells for the purposes of function. For example, they can be counter spelled. The spelldriving mode's level is determined by multiplying the number of spelldriving points used to activate the mode by 2.
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