Best class(es) for an airship crew [Archive] - Wizards Community

Best class(es) for an airship crew [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
JiCi
06-28-07, 07:24 PM According to Stormwrack, a typical ship crew is made from the following position:

Artillerist: in charge of weapons (ballista, mangonel, bombard)
Boatswain: in charge of the low-level sailors
Captain: leader of the operations
Deckhand: first-time sailor or typical crewmember
Helmsman: watcher and scout
Master: ship's owner and sometimes leader
Master-at-arm: order-keeper on the deck and keeper of the armory
Officer: second-in-command
Pilot: man at the wheel

The others are easy to do:
Mage: any arcane spellcaster
Prelate & Surgeon: any divine spellcaster
Windsinger: any nature-related spellcaster

But what about the rest ? Can you guys help me ?

Thanks in advance

JiCi
Captain_Kobold
06-28-07, 09:00 PM You want to know what classes the first list of crew positions would be?

I'd say mostly Level 1 to 4 Experts, with the more martial positions filled by warriors. (Yes, I know level 4 is rather high-level for a ship's crew, but since its an airship, the owners would tend to use their best men.)
The Pilot might be an expert with the Mark of Storm, or might even have Aristocrat or Dragonmark heir levels. Its possible that the Captain would also be the pilot and Master, as House Lyrandar's representative if the airship is one of theirs.

Remember in Eberron, player classes are rare. The prelate and surgeon are likely to be two different people, both experts. A magewright might be included unless the owners of the airship are lucky enough to get a mage or artificer. The windcaller is probably the pilot using his Mark of Storm.

Is this a particularly unusual airship you are asking about? If its somewhat more special than the standard House Lyrandar fleet, it may actually have crew with class levels, including spellcasters.
JiCi
06-29-07, 04:49 PM Hmmm... I kinda forgot about that "fact".

Warrior/Expert seems a good combination for most positions and rogue and artificer/Windright Captain seem to fit for captain and master respectively.

Thanks for the cues.
Captain_Kobold
06-30-07, 07:12 AM Its only a 'fact' if you choose it to be so.
If you are running a game that is higher power than the 'baseline' Eberron, want an encounter suitable for a group of higher level characters or just want a more experienced ships crew there is nothing to stop you designing one.

It could be a group of veterans from the Last war who accumulated enough wealth and bounties that they could buy out their ship from their military in the aftermath. They may have chosen to stick together and now make their living as adventurers, high-threat cargo couriers and transport into Xen'drik.
Thomar_of_Uointer
07-01-07, 11:39 AM Most crewmen are simply experts, as that's the default class for skilled NPCs. Anyone in any sort of combat role would be a warrior.

As for PCs, rogues make good crew members because of their many skill points. Bards are also exceptional, as they can boost the entire crew's abilities on a small enough ship. Rangers are also good due to their skill set and combat prowess.

I would either set each crew member's abilities on a case-by-case basis, or just say everybody in the crew is an expert of a particular level while any security crew are warriors of the same level. Mercenaries hired to protect a ship (in case of air piracy) would probably be outstanding NPCs with levels in PC classes, potential rivals or allies for the party.
mightyix
07-01-07, 04:39 PM Assume Airship crew leadership are half-elves. The captain is almost certainly going to have the mark of storm The same can be said of the pilot(s) since the elemental needs to be controlled by the Mark or a Charisma check through the helm. And most Eberron NPCs don't have high enough Charisma checks to reliably control the elemental. The skills can vary, but should include profession sailor and probably skill focus in that skill.

Sailors are going to be expert 1 or 2 with Skill Focus (Profession-Sailor) and a primary stat bonus supporting that skill allowing them to Take 10 and get a 15 - able to handle fairly difficult tasks on a routine basis.

Ships generally have carpenters, sail makers, and cooks who have skills focused in those areas rather than sailing in general.

The master at arms and the artillerists might be experts or warriors. Expect the commander of a weapon crew to be around 3rd level and to have two feats - weapon proficiency: artillery (See Heroes of Battle) and Skill Focus (Profession - Siege Engineer) with the crew being lower than that but similarly skilled for a military vessel. A civilian ship with limited weaponry may just have sailors with decent stats as the weapons crew and suffer the non-proficiency penalty for firing the artillery. It helps that ships are really really big targets that are easy to hit.

The master at arms and the boatswain (bosun) would generally be the same person on merchant ships, but on a military ship the master at arms would be the head of the Marine detatchment or something similar and probably professional military or a hired Deneith merc.

The surgeon would probably be an adept or expert with lots of ranks in heal, while no airship can get by for too without some sort of magical services supplied by an adept or magewright, if not a full artificer.
Werebat
07-03-07, 10:21 AM Best races and classes for an airship? You mean an airship for a delivery company named named "Khorvaire Express"?

1. Owner, really old male human artificer, CN
2. Pilot, one-eyed female human fighter, (mutated due to the Mourning), LG?
3. Chef, "male" warforged rogue, CE
4. Doctor, male crabman commoner, N
5. Accountant, male human expert, N
6. Delivery Boy, dumb male human commoner from the past, N
7. Eye Candy, wealthy and exotic (Sarlonan?) female human commoner, N

Yeah, I think that about covers it.

- Ron ^*^
OgreBane99
07-03-07, 04:04 PM Best races and classes for an airship? You mean an airship for a delivery company named named "Khorvaire Express"?

1. Owner, really old male human artificer, CN
2. Pilot, one-eyed female human fighter, (mutated due to the Mourning), LG?
3. Chef, "male" warforged rogue, CE
4. Doctor, male crabman commoner, N
5. Accountant, male human expert, N
6. Delivery Boy, dumb male human commoner from the past, N
7. Eye Candy, wealthy and exotic (Sarlonan?) female human commoner, N

Yeah, I think that about covers it.

- Ron ^*^

:rofl: Futurama???

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
JiCi 06-28-07, 07:24 PM	According to Stormwrack, a typical ship crew is made from the following position: Artillerist: in charge of weapons (ballista, mangonel, bombard) Boatswain: in charge of the low-level sailors Captain: leader of the operations Deckhand: first-time sailor or typical crewmember Helmsman: watcher and scout Master: ship's owner and sometimes leader Master-at-arm: order-keeper on the deck and keeper of the armory Officer: second-in-command Pilot: man at the wheel The others are easy to do: Mage: any arcane spellcaster Prelate & Surgeon: any divine spellcaster Windsinger: any nature-related spellcaster But what about the rest ? Can you guys help me ? Thanks in advance JiCi
Captain_Kobold 06-28-07, 09:00 PM	You want to know what classes the first list of crew positions would be? I'd say mostly Level 1 to 4 Experts, with the more martial positions filled by warriors. (Yes, I know level 4 is rather high-level for a ship's crew, but since its an airship, the owners would tend to use their best men.) The Pilot might be an expert with the Mark of Storm, or might even have Aristocrat or Dragonmark heir levels. Its possible that the Captain would also be the pilot and Master, as House Lyrandar's representative if the airship is one of theirs. Remember in Eberron, player classes are rare. The prelate and surgeon are likely to be two different people, both experts. A magewright might be included unless the owners of the airship are lucky enough to get a mage or artificer. The windcaller is probably the pilot using his Mark of Storm. Is this a particularly unusual airship you are asking about? If its somewhat more special than the standard House Lyrandar fleet, it may actually have crew with class levels, including spellcasters.
JiCi 06-29-07, 04:49 PM	Hmmm... I kinda forgot about that "fact". Warrior/Expert seems a good combination for most positions and rogue and artificer/Windright Captain seem to fit for captain and master respectively. Thanks for the cues.
Captain_Kobold 06-30-07, 07:12 AM	Its only a 'fact' if you choose it to be so. If you are running a game that is higher power than the 'baseline' Eberron, want an encounter suitable for a group of higher level characters or just want a more experienced ships crew there is nothing to stop you designing one. It could be a group of veterans from the Last war who accumulated enough wealth and bounties that they could buy out their ship from their military in the aftermath. They may have chosen to stick together and now make their living as adventurers, high-threat cargo couriers and transport into Xen'drik.
Thomar_of_Uointer 07-01-07, 11:39 AM	Most crewmen are simply experts, as that's the default class for skilled NPCs. Anyone in any sort of combat role would be a warrior. As for PCs, rogues make good crew members because of their many skill points. Bards are also exceptional, as they can boost the entire crew's abilities on a small enough ship. Rangers are also good due to their skill set and combat prowess. I would either set each crew member's abilities on a case-by-case basis, or just say everybody in the crew is an expert of a particular level while any security crew are warriors of the same level. Mercenaries hired to protect a ship (in case of air piracy) would probably be outstanding NPCs with levels in PC classes, potential rivals or allies for the party.
mightyix 07-01-07, 04:39 PM	Assume Airship crew leadership are half-elves. The captain is almost certainly going to have the mark of storm The same can be said of the pilot(s) since the elemental needs to be controlled by the Mark or a Charisma check through the helm. And most Eberron NPCs don't have high enough Charisma checks to reliably control the elemental. The skills can vary, but should include profession sailor and probably skill focus in that skill. Sailors are going to be expert 1 or 2 with Skill Focus (Profession-Sailor) and a primary stat bonus supporting that skill allowing them to Take 10 and get a 15 - able to handle fairly difficult tasks on a routine basis. Ships generally have carpenters, sail makers, and cooks who have skills focused in those areas rather than sailing in general. The master at arms and the artillerists might be experts or warriors. Expect the commander of a weapon crew to be around 3rd level and to have two feats - weapon proficiency: artillery (See Heroes of Battle) and Skill Focus (Profession - Siege Engineer) with the crew being lower than that but similarly skilled for a military vessel. A civilian ship with limited weaponry may just have sailors with decent stats as the weapons crew and suffer the non-proficiency penalty for firing the artillery. It helps that ships are really really big targets that are easy to hit. The master at arms and the boatswain (bosun) would generally be the same person on merchant ships, but on a military ship the master at arms would be the head of the Marine detatchment or something similar and probably professional military or a hired Deneith merc. The surgeon would probably be an adept or expert with lots of ranks in heal, while no airship can get by for too without some sort of magical services supplied by an adept or magewright, if not a full artificer.
Werebat 07-03-07, 10:21 AM	Best races and classes for an airship? You mean an airship for a delivery company named named "Khorvaire Express"? 1. Owner, really old male human artificer, CN 2. Pilot, one-eyed female human fighter, (mutated due to the Mourning), LG? 3. Chef, "male" warforged rogue, CE 4. Doctor, male crabman commoner, N 5. Accountant, male human expert, N 6. Delivery Boy, dumb male human commoner from the past, N 7. Eye Candy, wealthy and exotic (Sarlonan?) female human commoner, N Yeah, I think that about covers it. - Ron ^*^
OgreBane99 07-03-07, 04:04 PM	Best races and classes for an airship? You mean an airship for a delivery company named named "Khorvaire Express"? 1. Owner, really old male human artificer, CN 2. Pilot, one-eyed female human fighter, (mutated due to the Mourning), LG? 3. Chef, "male" warforged rogue, CE 4. Doctor, male crabman commoner, N 5. Accountant, male human expert, N 6. Delivery Boy, dumb male human commoner from the past, N 7. Eye Candy, wealthy and exotic (Sarlonan?) female human commoner, N Yeah, I think that about covers it. - Ron ^*^ :rofl: Futurama???