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Flying Ships - Fantasy or Not?

Started by Ghost, August 07, 2006, 02:29:23 AM

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Ghost

August 07, 2006, 02:29:23 AM Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by stargate525
I'm in the middle of making my campaign setting, and I wanted to include some kind of non-teleportation, non-animal transportation through the air. Hopefully something that would also enable spaceflight.

What i've used for now is a naturally occuring mineral ('Gravetite'...) that has a tendency to float;,and the wizards of the more advanced nations have learned how to magically amplify the minerals effect. But this just doesn't seem impressive enough.

What do you use in your campaigns when it comes to flying ships? Or do you prefer to avoid them entirely?
‘Yes, one may live while never leaving their domicile. But then, they aren’t really alive. Exploring, adventuring, becoming a mercenary - whatever one may call it, it is the blood of the world that many are embracing now. Our reach is advanced nearly everyday, and the stars themselves are in our grasp. That is why I, and many others, continue to learn as we do.’

-Cazirife Dee, Captain of the Holy Vyecec (excerpt from the intro to Ifpherion: AoE)

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the_taken

#1
August 07, 2006, 01:17:32 PM
Maybe the ship is powered by a bunch of air elementals, and they only keep it up when a gnome bard is singing and playing the banjo.

Epic Meepo

#2
August 07, 2006, 02:05:32 PM
Two words: ghost engine. That's right, an engine powered by ghosts. Stuff enough ghosts in a chamber that extends into the Ethereal Plane and you can make anything fly.
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Ghost

#3
August 07, 2006, 02:30:19 PM
Ghost-powered ships, eh? Those sound very interesting, very interesting indeed. I'll have to save that idea for a different campaign though (and i've got several in mind), as in this current setting there is only one universe, ours, which has vast regions of space where magic works, and other regions where it doesn't work.

Hmm. Maybe I will go and look back at Spelljammer again, and see how they did it. Thank you for your replies, though!
‘Yes, one may live while never leaving their domicile. But then, they aren’t really alive. Exploring, adventuring, becoming a mercenary - whatever one may call it, it is the blood of the world that many are embracing now. Our reach is advanced nearly everyday, and the stars themselves are in our grasp. That is why I, and many others, continue to learn as we do.’

-Cazirife Dee, Captain of the Holy Vyecec (excerpt from the intro to Ifpherion: AoE)

I've had the honor of helping:
    - Tera

Jürgen Hubert

#4
August 07, 2006, 03:05:24 PM
Urbis is based on the 19th century, which didn't have too much in the way of flight apart from hot air baloons, so I'm not going to use flight much, either.

(Though I do have some ideas for a "successor setting" set 70 years in the future, with flight technology right out of the anime "Last Exile"...)
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Matt Larkin (author)

#5
August 07, 2006, 04:03:14 PM
Airships aren't just fantasy, they're Final Fantasy.

Seriously, in most settings I avoid them, but in any kind of steampunk or high-magic setting it can be an interesting addition.
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DeeL

#6
August 07, 2006, 07:18:40 PM
The Arms and Equipment Guide includes a number of options, including the ornithopter, the soarwhale, and the cloud keel.  Although 'cloud islands' are mentioned from time to time in the literature, virtually nowhere are there stat for them; if you wish to include them, therefore, you must crunch your own numbers.
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beejazz

#7
August 07, 2006, 11:48:01 PM
Ornithopters and hot air balloons for the WIN. As for propulsion, the fact that it can fly is fantastic enough. Like the force... cool enough BEFORE midichloriens that the non-contribution to the explaination was LAME. Explainations are only cool if they DO something... like making the zeppelins highly flammable.
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Ghost

#8
August 08, 2006, 01:00:27 AM
Ah, yes! Thank you for your suggestions of ornithopters and hot-air balloons. I don't know why I haven't already included them. I'm going to have to take a better look at that A&E Guide.

As for weaknesses, the only one I can think of is that the stone is very brittle - stat wise, a low hardness rating. But since there's plenty of it, it most likely wouldn't be as well guarded - the players could take down a ship with a BBEG or monsters on it, if they made it past guards or rolled very high on Move Silently. Then, they'd have to find someway off without getting themselves killed...interesting.

Thank you again for your insights.
‘Yes, one may live while never leaving their domicile. But then, they aren’t really alive. Exploring, adventuring, becoming a mercenary - whatever one may call it, it is the blood of the world that many are embracing now. Our reach is advanced nearly everyday, and the stars themselves are in our grasp. That is why I, and many others, continue to learn as we do.’

-Cazirife Dee, Captain of the Holy Vyecec (excerpt from the intro to Ifpherion: AoE)

I've had the honor of helping:
    - Tera

Stargate525

#9
August 08, 2006, 02:29:34 AM
Here's an idea. Take your mineral, and give it a neutral weight (ie it sits wherever you place it). Get ships chiseled out of this stuff, and fly 'em on the end of a kite.

Yes, a kite.

a big kite.

A VERY big kite.

the kite would ideally drift somewhere up into the jetstream, pulling the ship along with it. steering would be done with rudders on the ship, and stopping would be retracting the kite and pulling the ship down.

And pray none of your ships hit a stormcloud.
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#10
August 08, 2006, 02:56:29 AM
Quote from: stargate525Here's an idea. Take your mineral, and give it a neutral weight (ie it sits wherever you place it). Get ships chiseled out of this stuff, and fly 'em on the end of a kite.

Yes, a kite.

a big kite.

A VERY big kite.

the kite would ideally drift somewhere up into the jetstream, pulling the ship along with it. steering would be done with rudders on the ship, and stopping would be retracting the kite and pulling the ship down.

And pray none of your ships hit a stormcloud.


How would the ship handle in a high wind area? would it get blown about?
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Stargate525

#11
August 08, 2006, 03:38:41 AM
Quote from: KalinHow would the ship handle in a high wind area? would it get blown about?
I don't think it would, as long as the wind difference isn't too large. I'm sure you would get problems with a 20 or thirty mph crosswind, but lower than that and I'm pretty sure that you could compensate.

To prevent getting blown about, you would want something with a small cross section both head on and alongside, I think. Something like a large thin platform or similar, giving the least amout of area for crosswinds to push the ship.


You could also attach sails directly to the craft on all sides if you wanted, although I don't think sailing into the wind, or even tacking across, would be a viable option. The only real way to control your direction would be to ascend/descend through different blowing air streams, which is why I suggested the kite, which would be easy to raise and lower.
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beejazz

#12
August 08, 2006, 04:00:09 AM
Kites. Now is that so freaking awesome it's ridiculous or so freaking ridiculous it's awesome?
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What?
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Jürgen Hubert

#13
August 08, 2006, 04:47:18 AM
Quote from: Phoenix KnightAirships aren't just fantasy, they're Final Fantasy.

Unless they are zeppelins, in which case they are Alternate History...
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Matt Larkin (author)

#14
August 08, 2006, 12:13:40 PM
Quote from: Jürgen Hubert
Quote from: Phoenix KnightAirships aren't just fantasy, they're Final Fantasy.

Unless they are zeppelins, in which case they are Alternate History...
Which is actually the kind I plan to use in my next setting.  Zepplins are cool.
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