From their first steps into wildspace, the Tanu were struck by the multitude of designs for spacecraft, in particular the unique designs that were known as racial icons of spelljamming. Always eager to distinguish themselves from others, the Tanu sought design ideas with which to represent themselves among the powerful spelljamming races.

After much thought it was decided that the great sea creatures of their home world would be the models for the Tanu spelljamming designs. After the Paring and the reversal of evolution for the native life of Arkaela, the seas became the domains of the gigantic beasts which arose from the devolution of their smaller cousins. What better forms for the Tanu to use to strike fear in the hearts of foes and gain respect from their peers than these?

Note however, that the Old Ones' servants of the sea are not used for design ideas.

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The first Tanu ship design was the Triop, modeled after the creature of the same name, a self-reproducing, armored water beast that hunts the Arkaelan seas. They are often referred to as 'sea wolves' as they sometimes hunt in packs and attack far larger animals, devouring them to the bone in a short time. They are also capable of laying in suspended animation should their water body dry up, reanimating again centuries later when the water returns.

The Triop is the armored workhorse of the Tanu fleet, a mostly-enclosed design that relies on heavy armor plating, a devastating ram, hidden weapon turrets and excellent maneuverability to destroy much larger ships. There is also a larger version, the Mega-Triop, whose increased weapons capacity and durability make it the Tanu exploration vessel of choice; this ship will also be the command vessel of most Tanu armadas in space.

The next design the Tanu adopted as their own was the Manta. While there are giant rays that swim the Arkaelan seas, the concept originally came from a sighting of the great ship Spelljammer itself, during a battle with illithids near the Specter in Greyspace. So impressive and awe-inspiring was the mighty vessel, and so quickly did the mind-flayers abandon the fight and vacate the area, that the gape-mouthed Tanu knew this was a shape that other races would respect. Shortly afterwards the first Tanu Manta was launched from Arkaela. Though not as enclosed nor as maneuverable as the Triop, the Manta can stand toe-to-toe against an Elven Man-o-War in battle, with its heavy weapons and ram.

The same shape is also used for what amounts to the Tanu Flitter, the Skate.

Impressed by the large weapons platforms of the established races, the Tanu realized they, too, needed to field a large-size vessel to guard its far-flung colonies and stand against the great battlewagons of their enemies. The starfish was chosen to form the design idea for the Star Class ship. Able to pry open the shells of giant clams which could swallow a humanoid whole, and able to survive dismemberment of their limbs, the starfish became the template for the largest Tanu-built ship.

Due to the high upper limit of ship tonnage which a Tanu psionic helm could power, Andraxas instructed his ship architects to push the vessel's size as far as one could go. Thus was born the behemoth of the Legion Fleet, the Star-class vessel. Assisted by their gnome allies, the designers created a modular system whereby the entire ship's structure could be assembled with only 75 distinct part components needed in the proper amounts. This does not, of course, include ship accoutrements such as the elevator engines, communication tubes, weapons, etc. However, the effort of creating an assembly line of such parts, all milled with precision, is incredibly costly and difficult; at present, only one of these great ships is planned for each crystal sphere the Tanu inhabit, and each ship receives a name indicating what sphere it guards. Currently there is the Doomstar {named for both Doom's Gate city and the God of Doom himself} in Arkaelaspace; the Greystar in Greyspace; and the Morning Star {named for Abbadon, the Dark Angel of Morning} in the Astromundi Cluster. The Dragonstar of Krynn is still under construction, and there are plans for ships to be stationed in Vodonispace and Greatspace as well.

The Tanu Legion tends to avoid Toril's sphere, as their adventures there have not been entirely successful, and also because settling efforts there have met with failure. Further efforts are not planned at the moment, as the deities of the sphere have placed enough stern resistance in their path that Andraxas has withdrawn, if for the moment.

However, during their time there the Tanu met with one success: the capture of the Batship which prowled the Tears of Selune. After this freakish vessel decimated a number of Tanu ships, the Legion returned with their numbers bolstered by one of the thirteen Dreadknights. With its powerful magic, the evil spirit led the successful capture of the Batship, and the Tanu had their revenge. The Dreadknight removed the cursed box helm from the ship and set it adrift in deep space, and the Mega-Triop Warsong of Arkaela returned home with the gutted hulk of the Batship in tow. Placed in the hangar of the Dimensional Vengeance, the Legion engineers copied its dimensions and added their own flair, and produced the Tanu Dragonship. While sticklers may say the vessel more resembles a wyvern, the Tanu pay a silent homage to dragonkind and veer from their usual path of piscine design by travelling in this fearsomely shaped ship.

As the years passed, and Andraxas' people grew in power, it was inevidable that there would be new ship designs, created by the god's own worshippers to increase their races' power. The first character-engineered design comes from the very king of Mount Bluetop himself, and is tailored for the inhabitants of that colony, predominantly dwarves and gnomes. A powerful battlewagon and ship-taker, the Great Dwarven Axe graces the fleet commanded by the dwarven King Otar of Bluetop.

The GREAT DWARVEN AXE