Flying castles ... sky-pirates ... and floating continents
Each of these setting elements have been a staple of many high fantasy worlds over the years. From the Death-Gate series to Spelljammer, Skyland, the Diamond Throne and Eidolon (Shadow World), they help to impart a sense of wonder, magic and freedom wherever they are found. And besides that (when done right) they are just plain cool!
I'm planning on including some of these elements in a setting I'm working on and was wondering how you have used them in the past? In your opinion, are they optimally used as a cornerstone of the setting, or only for flavor? What else have you added to your setting because of these features? A winged race perhaps? How did you handle the ever present chance of falling to your death?
Any thoughts or suggestions are most welcome.
my own campaign world uses that too...(now if only I can unlazy and actually write about it)
but I feel it's fairly important that if you intent to use the campaign world for a long time, then have some of the landmass be large enough for intere adventures to essentially be handled on the ground, instead of making the player feels they don't have to get ahold of a airship every single time.
flavor wise, it should mean tremendously for how the world is buildt up, gaming wise, then I feel it should be optional how much the players interact with the flying part.
I also try to look logically at it, and see how it changes alot of the basic assumptions. flying mounts for example becomes alot more valuable, which means they'll get breed and hunted more, which mean they'll be more common, and races that have a natural ability to fly will have a clear advantage, and in same cases, like that big flying sting ray thing in the monster manual, will probaly fill alot more in the mythology of the world.
I've found that keeping either technology or magic low and slightly under the radar helps keep things like the airships and flying things in general a bit fresher. It all comes down to contrast; the more of the things that exist the harder it is for a single thing to stand out.
If you want to make it a large part of the setting, The go completely overboard with it. As the saying goes, quantity is a quality all of its own. Perhaps the land has been made uninhabitable because of war or disease. Or maybe the world broke into pieces and now the various pieces orbit around in the sky. I always liked the idea of aerial jousts, as well as zepplins. I would suggest a more modern feel to using airships; they're basically airplanes, not flying sailboats.
Defensively, the various nations would have some form of airforce, and some method of detecting incoming enemy vessels. Also, if the world is a bunch of sky islands, the method of detection needs to be in 3-D.
Quote from: Endless_HelixI've found that keeping either technology or magic low and slightly under the radar helps keep things like the airships and flying things in general a bit fresher. It all comes down to contrast; the more of the things that exist the harder it is for a single thing to stand out.
If you want to make it a large part of the setting, The go completely overboard with it. As the saying goes, quantity is a quality all of its own. Perhaps the land has been made uninhabitable because of war or disease. Or maybe the world broke into pieces and now the various pieces orbit around in the sky. I always liked the idea of aerial jousts, as well as zepplins. I would suggest a more modern feel to using airships; they're basically airplanes, not flying sailboats.
Defensively, the various nations would have some form of airforce, and some method of detecting incoming enemy vessels. Also, if the world is a bunch of sky islands, the method of detection needs to be in 3-D.
Very astute observations. Particularly the concept of "contrasting" the level of magic or tech to that of the airships.
Ever played Skies of Arcadia for the Sega Dreamcast or the Nintendo Camecube? Really fun Sky Pirate adventure game where floating continents and air ships were as common to them as a semi truck or the ocean is to us. Never did bother explaining how or why anything worked either. Something to that, I think.
Quote from: SlapzillaEver played Skies of Arcadia for the Sega Dreamcast or the Nintendo Camecube? Really fun Sky Pirate adventure game where floating continents and air ships were as common to them as a semi truck or the ocean is to us. Never did bother explaining how or why anything worked either. Something to that, I think.
Not here at the Cabbage patch... :) We like the facts. We likes them a lots.
In the universe I'm working on, there's a mineral that will usually float when exposed to oxygen. This, along with manipulation of just how much it floats by specialized engineers, has allowed for the development of large ships, just by mixing this mineral into the hull.
At the moment, the most common type of transport is large, almost cruise ship-sized flying ships that are usually used to fly a lot of people from city to city, but have the capability to fly from one continent to another. The governments, and a few pirate corporations, have ships modified to travel to the planet's moons and beyond, though there aren't as many of those. As well, a few governments are experimenting with small aircraft designed especially for combat.
Of course, what many people do, if they can do it at all, day-to-day is simply use a technique to allow themselves to fly.
There aren't really any floating continents, as this mineral would be concentrated in veins. There might just be flying castles though - it'd probably be limited by the size of the building; it takes a lot more manpower and/or personal resources to float a fortress than it does for a shack.
I think that they would certainly change the implications of warfare. Perhaps they might replace castles altogether--there's a fantasy series where that is the case. In effect the superior nations have flying fortresses and aerial mounts, though they have ground forces too.
I also can't help but feel there'd be a trail of garbage under them.
If you plan to use the campaign for an extended amount of time, I would suggest making some of the skybergs large enough to support adventuring for a while. Having to ride an airship from place to place constantly would not only get boring and commonplace, but also expensive. But, at the same time, in the middle of an adventure having a PC look up and see a massive zeppelin or other skyberg fly by with people waving would be a sight that players wouldn't forget for some time.