italianranma
First Post
My gaming group and I have talked for a long time about how cool it would be to adventure in an airship. When I think of the kind of encounters I could pull off, well, the sky is the limit! See, even in an airship I'm not above puns 
In any case with the advent of 4th edition we're going to start a new campaign which I'll be DMing.
I can already see sky pirates riding wyverns, or having a pirate airship descend on the PCs from directly out of the sun, pulling up with enough momentum to have pirates swing in on ropes and board the PC's vessel. Or how about the PCs running from an angry mob, and jumping off of a cliff only to land safety aboard their airship. There's definite a lot of potential here.
In any case I'm not looking to make hard and fast rules here (especially without the 4.0 Core rules released yet), I'm looking more for general ideas about the look and feel of airships. I'm a pilot, and I've got a bit aviation experience under my belt. When I think of the dangers of flying, I think of weather, fuel, and hitting the ground. When I think of airships though I think of Final Fantasy, and the airships there don't have those problems. Also, most of those airships look like boats with a big puffy balloon or propellers that keep them afloat. In real life flying and maintaining an aircraft is expensive, but the fantasy versions don't seem to have the same kinds of upkeep. What I'd like is to give the PCs an airship at the end of their Heroic levels, and be able to use the airship as a continuing plot hook.
My goal is to make an airship that feels like a fantasy creation but still requires a lot of upkeep (motivating them to adventure more). And also to explore the kinds of airships that can be created.
I think the first problem is deciding how airships actually fly. The could be suspended from something that floats (like floatstone ala FFI) or a balloon. The could be help up by imprisoned elementals (ala eberron). They could generate lift like a real airplane or helicopter does. Finally they could fly simply because they are enchanted to.
The next problem is to make them rare and expensive. Having a ship suspended from a balloon to me at least defeats this: Ocean going ships are common enough, and even if balloons aren't, the construction isn't so difficult. However, if a coal burning furnace supplies the hot air, the upkeep could be very expensive, so I like that idea. Should an airship be fueled by magic alone, then any wizard who was able to learn the proper spells should be able to create an airship. While expensive reagents may be needed to maintain the enchantments, that idea doesn't really speak to me. Having a rare material like floatstone could work, but then the upkeep costs don't seem to be too huge. And the imprisoned elemental idea looked cool in the pictures, but 4th ed elementals might not be so easily abused.
One of the encounters that I've envisioned includes attackers cutting the lines that keep the airship tied to it's source of flight.
The next problem is about propulsion, speed, and to a lesser extent crew. How fast should airships travel? how high off the ground can they go? In real life above 10,000 feet people can get hypoxic (their brains aren't getting enough oxygen). But it was awhile before we were able to get planes that flew that high. Limiting the max altitude of airships also limits where they can go; it makes certain mountain ranges impassable and forces the crew to navigate around certain terrain. Although I'm sure some birds fly higher, most birds don't fly higher than 2,000 feet off the ground. I'm not sure how high dragons fly, but I don't think airships should go higher. The higher you go, the better view you have, which may help with navigating. Also, the higher you go the stronger the winds are. At 15,000 feet, it's not uncommon for winds to go as high as 75 knots. If the airship can only travel at 30 knots, then it won't be able to progress against that kind of wind. Along that note, what is a good speed for an airship? Already it would probably be the fastest way to travel since it can take the direct route and navigate over most obstacles. Like a ship it can travel for longer than 8hrs a day without becoming fatigued. Finally, what kind of crew would you need on an airship? Skills needed would probably be the same for any ocean going vessel: a pilot is necessary of course, and a navigator too, also mechanics, cooks, and various hands to manage whatever else is necessary including defense.
Early planes were limited in the amount of weight they could carry because of their engines. I think limiting the weight of airships (no matter what method of flight they use) is a practical limitation. The adventuring party, plus their horses, plus supplies, plus room for loot equals how much? How much does a horse weigh anyway?
Where do airships land? If they can hover, they can land pretty much wherever they want, but if they look like boats then they should probably be able to land on water too.
What are the implications of airships? Castles and their like would need to protect against that kind of assault. Modern tactical insertions become available. What kind of anti-aircraft artillery does the magical medieval world have? How many fireballs can an airship withstand?
Finally what does an airship look like? It doesn't have to even look like a ship. Airplanes are aerodynamic (sleek looking) to minimize drag. If our airship doesn't rely on lift (ie it doesn't have wings or a giant helicopter propeller) then it doesn't necessarily need to look aerodynamic or even like a boat.
Anyway I'm just brainstorming here, any ideas or links to previous threads would be appreciated.
In any case with the advent of 4th edition we're going to start a new campaign which I'll be DMing.I can already see sky pirates riding wyverns, or having a pirate airship descend on the PCs from directly out of the sun, pulling up with enough momentum to have pirates swing in on ropes and board the PC's vessel. Or how about the PCs running from an angry mob, and jumping off of a cliff only to land safety aboard their airship. There's definite a lot of potential here.
In any case I'm not looking to make hard and fast rules here (especially without the 4.0 Core rules released yet), I'm looking more for general ideas about the look and feel of airships. I'm a pilot, and I've got a bit aviation experience under my belt. When I think of the dangers of flying, I think of weather, fuel, and hitting the ground. When I think of airships though I think of Final Fantasy, and the airships there don't have those problems. Also, most of those airships look like boats with a big puffy balloon or propellers that keep them afloat. In real life flying and maintaining an aircraft is expensive, but the fantasy versions don't seem to have the same kinds of upkeep. What I'd like is to give the PCs an airship at the end of their Heroic levels, and be able to use the airship as a continuing plot hook.
My goal is to make an airship that feels like a fantasy creation but still requires a lot of upkeep (motivating them to adventure more). And also to explore the kinds of airships that can be created.
I think the first problem is deciding how airships actually fly. The could be suspended from something that floats (like floatstone ala FFI) or a balloon. The could be help up by imprisoned elementals (ala eberron). They could generate lift like a real airplane or helicopter does. Finally they could fly simply because they are enchanted to.
The next problem is to make them rare and expensive. Having a ship suspended from a balloon to me at least defeats this: Ocean going ships are common enough, and even if balloons aren't, the construction isn't so difficult. However, if a coal burning furnace supplies the hot air, the upkeep could be very expensive, so I like that idea. Should an airship be fueled by magic alone, then any wizard who was able to learn the proper spells should be able to create an airship. While expensive reagents may be needed to maintain the enchantments, that idea doesn't really speak to me. Having a rare material like floatstone could work, but then the upkeep costs don't seem to be too huge. And the imprisoned elemental idea looked cool in the pictures, but 4th ed elementals might not be so easily abused.
One of the encounters that I've envisioned includes attackers cutting the lines that keep the airship tied to it's source of flight.
The next problem is about propulsion, speed, and to a lesser extent crew. How fast should airships travel? how high off the ground can they go? In real life above 10,000 feet people can get hypoxic (their brains aren't getting enough oxygen). But it was awhile before we were able to get planes that flew that high. Limiting the max altitude of airships also limits where they can go; it makes certain mountain ranges impassable and forces the crew to navigate around certain terrain. Although I'm sure some birds fly higher, most birds don't fly higher than 2,000 feet off the ground. I'm not sure how high dragons fly, but I don't think airships should go higher. The higher you go, the better view you have, which may help with navigating. Also, the higher you go the stronger the winds are. At 15,000 feet, it's not uncommon for winds to go as high as 75 knots. If the airship can only travel at 30 knots, then it won't be able to progress against that kind of wind. Along that note, what is a good speed for an airship? Already it would probably be the fastest way to travel since it can take the direct route and navigate over most obstacles. Like a ship it can travel for longer than 8hrs a day without becoming fatigued. Finally, what kind of crew would you need on an airship? Skills needed would probably be the same for any ocean going vessel: a pilot is necessary of course, and a navigator too, also mechanics, cooks, and various hands to manage whatever else is necessary including defense.
Early planes were limited in the amount of weight they could carry because of their engines. I think limiting the weight of airships (no matter what method of flight they use) is a practical limitation. The adventuring party, plus their horses, plus supplies, plus room for loot equals how much? How much does a horse weigh anyway?
Where do airships land? If they can hover, they can land pretty much wherever they want, but if they look like boats then they should probably be able to land on water too.
What are the implications of airships? Castles and their like would need to protect against that kind of assault. Modern tactical insertions become available. What kind of anti-aircraft artillery does the magical medieval world have? How many fireballs can an airship withstand?
Finally what does an airship look like? It doesn't have to even look like a ship. Airplanes are aerodynamic (sleek looking) to minimize drag. If our airship doesn't rely on lift (ie it doesn't have wings or a giant helicopter propeller) then it doesn't necessarily need to look aerodynamic or even like a boat.
Anyway I'm just brainstorming here, any ideas or links to previous threads would be appreciated.
