DM Fulcrum
Squire
Posts: 46 
Favorite D&D Class: Paladin
Favorite D&D Race: Dragonborn
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Post by DM Fulcrum on Jul 24, 2015 5:07:45 GMT
So, I've been thinking of different ways of travel for an upcoming campaign and I came across the ships section in the DMG and they have an airship. I was just curious if anyone has used or is using airships in their campaigns and if so if you have set up any rules such as Constitution Modifiers for air density or Dex checks to stay aboard? This also got me thinking to suggest a future episode dedicated to traveling in worlds. Whether it be by wagon or machines like Time In Relative in Space (TARDIS) Sorry huge Doctor Who fan  |
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Post by joatmoniac on Jul 26, 2015 18:51:32 GMT
I was just curious if anyone has used or is using airships in their campaigns and if so if you have set up any rules such as Constitution Modifiers for air density or Dex checks to stay aboard? I haven't used them from the DM side of the screen, but have as a player. There weren't very many rules associated with being/staying on the ship as it was more of a means of conveyance than anything else. I think that if the players were going from land to being in the air for an extended amount of time I would definitely implement rules like this. Possibly involving fatigue after failing a certain number of Con saves. Definitely involve Dex checks if anything crazy was happening in regards to maneuvers by the airship. Did the players forget to tie off? Uh oh! Cool ideas, and would be fun if it was the players main mode of travel. |
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Post by DM Kiado on Jul 26, 2015 20:09:04 GMT
I think this would more depend on the type of Airship you want to have. Is it magically powered, elementally powered or just mechanically powered? For instance, a magical airship would probably be designed to carry people in a stable manner despite conditions. At least I would think the Mages that probably made the first Airship would have made it as stable as possible to be a spell casting platform, it could even be a sea bound ship that has had some ritual cast on it. Does it use elements like helium (or equivalent), coal furnace type mechanical devices, or a mix of those? The skills needed would depend on factors such as these.
You could base your DC checks for events that might need checks based off the technical or magical level of the ship. I personally wouldn't bog myself down in flight mechanics of Airships if I was using one in an adventure. I would treat it more as a story element then something that needs dice personally, unless you wanted to have skilled air "naval" battles or something. If they are common and practical means of transportation in a world, something would have to make them safe, or people wouldn't use them. No one would take an airplane if you had to have some skill to keep yourself in it while flying. Now you could go the other route and have players find long lost plans for one or they otherwise find or build one then it could certainly be more sketchy as it won't be common at all and could require skill and talent to use and remain on the deck of one.
Been seriously considering them in my campaign though.
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Post by lasersniper on Aug 2, 2015 6:00:01 GMT
I have used them in a high magic campaign I ran a while ago. That being said, it was quite a high level of magic in this campaign, so travel on airships was pretty standard and safe for the average traveler, no checks or anything. The only time I had them make a check for anything airship related is when the wanted to take control of it, and when their "pilot" joined a fight on deck which allowed the pilot-less ship to flip belly up.
My thoughts on the subject are, unless you are in the experimental stages of airships, the only time I would have them roll checks to stay aboard would be during a storm or an event like the one I described just a second ago.
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Post by joatmoniac on Aug 2, 2015 6:15:14 GMT
The only time I had them make a check for anything airship related is when the wanted to take control of it, and when their "pilot" joined a fight on deck which allowed the pilot-less ship to flip belly up. Haha, definitely rolls required when the ship you are on is no longer upright in the sky ... One can only hope the players were high enough level to counteract that if they failed their rolls. If not you could have them race the clock and see if they can roll up a new character before their's hits the ground. |
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Post by joatmoniac on Aug 3, 2015 7:52:17 GMT
I have used them in a high magic campaign I ran a while ago. That being said, it was quite a high level of magic in this campaign, so travel on airships was pretty standard and safe for the average traveler, no checks or anything. The only time I had them make a check for anything airship related is when the wanted to take control of it, and when their "pilot" joined a fight on deck which allowed the pilot-less ship to flip belly up. My thoughts on the subject are, unless you are in the experimental stages of airships, the only time I would have them roll checks to stay aboard would be during a storm or an event like the one I described just a second ago. Also, welcome to the Block Party! Jumped right into the forums with the rest of us Blockheads! |
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Post by lasersniper on Aug 3, 2015 15:01:41 GMT
Also, welcome to the Block Party! Jumped right into the forums with the rest of us Blockheads! Thanks |
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Post by Tesla Ranger on Aug 12, 2015 0:07:05 GMT
I've used airships about anytime I'm ready for the party to have a mobile base so they don't have to dink around on somebody -else-'s water-bound boat. It's been pretty handy when I used it in the past and I expect to make another one when we get to that point in our current campaign. That airship might be a bit different but the previous one was essentially a normal vessel that was very heavily enchanted. The keel allowed it to go up and down and the hull kept a bubble of sea-level atmosphere (generally around room-temperature though that was sometimes dependent on the environment) around the entire ship. That allowed us to zip around without worrying about hypoxia or hypothermia. IIRC the ship could only go up so high (apparently about 20,000') and traveled at 30 mph for 24 hours a day, faster with a good headwind and a sailor profession check.
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Post by arnil on Aug 14, 2015 8:10:46 GMT
Yes I'm using airships but no I haven't had any special rules for them. That said only a few of my nations do use it; Lenka Mountain Clans, Kasa-Swasol League, Carcho Empire, and the Cinium Empire all use them in some degree mostly trade. dungeonsandtulu.wordpress.com/ |
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