Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Ehtiar 03-28-07, 10:41 AM	Simple thing really, I'm trolling for ideas here.. Adventure concepts that are based around a group with an airship... I'm trying to figure out a batch, and I mean where it's not just like the old school "Spelljammer" adventures.. which was simply using a ship to move from a-to-b to have a dungeon crawl... So not just ideas on purely using the airship as transport to get to where the adventure is.. but actually based around the ship and the pc's who own/run it.
Caul 03-28-07, 10:54 AM	Pick up "Voyage of the Golden Dragon" as a good resource. Keep in mind though, that depending on the size of the airship, it may be difficult to actually have adventures on it, rather than just using it for transportation. One idea that a friend of mind and I have kicked around is a murder mystery on a large airship (possibly even the Golden Dragon) that must be solved before reaching port... just my two crowns...
Nerdicus 03-28-07, 11:06 AM	You could do a scavange hunt style campaign, but introduce s few other groups in airships that are also after the items. Maybe include some flying mosterous being like gargoyles and or harpies who are also after the itmes. Then you can have cool ship to ship battles in the air, and the odd monster attack while the group is in the air. Another cool concept for an airship based advetnrue is to have the ship start off very bare-bones. Hopefully you can have an artificer in the group( if you are going for this sort of adventure you should certainly have an artificer and an aircaptain) and that he can be working on upgrades and what not for the ship. After the first adventure the characters can realize that their ship is vastly outgunned(figuratively) compared to the other ships competing for the prizes. THen it is not only a race to get the goods, but also an arms race to see whose ship can be outfitted the best. I think this sort of campgaign would be very fun to play in or run. I personaly would want to play a character that would eventualy get a flying mount to act as a support combatant in the air.
Kensan_Oni 03-28-07, 12:08 PM	Set up a sky pirate game. The party is in charge of keeping the skies freindly. I mean, i would imagine a lot of airships were produced during the war, and not only for house Lyrandar. There are bound to be captains and crews that after peace broke out went, "You aren't grounding my ship!" and went to take refuge in the mountains and the monster territories. You can revolve a campaign around pirate hunting, protecting Lyrandar ships, and taking passengers from there to here, fighting off Arrowhawk, harpy, and other attacks. Occasionally intrigue comes the party's way and you have a mystery or a murder on your hands. The possibilities are endless, and you don't have to do underground much, either. Heck, invading one of the floating towers to reclaim it for the Wizards of Andair would also be appropriate.
Nundahl 03-28-07, 12:52 PM	I've recently run an airship adventure as sort of a side track for my campaign, and I'll try to sum it up nicely ... I do have a tendency to ramble that I'll attempt to avoid here. So the party was travelling via airship across the Mournland, a dangerous path of course, but flying above the mist. The Captain, a young Half-Elf Miles d'Lyrandar explained the potential dangers of such a flight (living spells in the form of powerful storms that sometimes reach up from the mists), but the PC's were determined of course (as planned) to make the trip. In truth, the Captain was hoping to, in a none to sly method, convince the PC's to leave the ship, for he was more concerned with his larger plans. Our Captain has found himself in a bit of trouble, and he plans to let some pirates who have stolen several other airships attack his ship, kidnap his crew/passengers and ransom them off to Lyrandar. A fine plan ... too bad it didn't work. Buying into cliche', the pirates betray our Captain, killing innocent passengers, and organizing a deal with some Hobgoblin slavers. So the adventure went down like this ... Flying on the Northangel, the heroes soar above the Mists of the Mournland, when another ship is spotted on the Horizon. Miles claims that this shipping route should be free, and is suspicious of another ship being present. He asks the adventurers to investigate for him, they had offered such services to him previously so he knows they are willing. They of course do as told. As soon as they enter the Arrowhawk, climbing below deck, they here a loud "THOOM" ... the veins of fire lighting the ship go dim, and they feel their guts rising in their bellies ... they are falling. Three loud cracks of splintering wood can be heard outside, several heroes look throughout the ship for a way to repower the elemental, one climbs back on deck to watch as a third ship, unnamed, has decloaked and fired incredible hooks into the Northangel, while an Yrthak flys around the ship blasting it with his Sonic Lance. So, first and foremost, how to solve the problem of the falling airship ... Well, this took a little rule fudging, so I apologize to those rules lawyers out there. For one, I made the control rig for the airship modular, and gave it to the creature lying in wait in the bottom deck of the ship, a Spirit Naga. I also gave her some spells to summon elementals and a new magic item, a Rod of Augment Summoning, 3/day You're treated as if you have the Augment Summoning Feat. The idea being she could summon a powerful and strong elemental to aide the suppressed elemental in the ship, while the heroes were panicing seeking a way to bring the ship back up, she could pick them off one by one sneaking through the dark lower decks. Sure the rules don't say you can channel an elemental directly into the ship, but I figure as long as its not being bound permanently, why not let it get in there to help. Anyhow, the heroes kill the Naga with ease, of course because that's what they do. Take the rod, cleric summons a fire elemental, and the ship gets powered up ... tada. They pull up just in time to ride the top of the Msts and start the chase. However, because of the time spent in getting the ship up to speed, the Northangel and the unnamed ship are just too far ahead to catch up. Eventually, they manage to catch up when the pirate ship stops at a their "home base" as it were. A flying fortress raised high above Metrol, it's Cyre's version of the Skyway or the Arcanix towers. The building was early in development still when the Mourning happened, and most who were involved in its construction perished when magical energies surged upwards rocking the entire island. So, acknowledging that they are facing far more than they can handle, given that they have a skeleton crew on a full airship, they start to come up with plans ... when one person rolls a search check and discovers the secret weapon. Deep in what was once the naga's lair, covered in a heavy tarp is a lightning elemental bound cannon. In true Eberron feel they mount this thing to the bow, blow away the Yrthak perform flyby attacks to the best of their ability against the docked ships, take a few hits of their own, and then cut the elementals power, causing the ship to tip and drop straight into the Mournland. The pirates, having their own weapons, follow, and I get a perfect scene where the Arrowhawk breaks the mist barrier only to see the smoldering and broken ruins of industrial Metrol, thousands of undead walking the city streets aimlessly. The heroes, looking back over their shoulder catch pirate ships breaking through the mist in hot pursuit. They pull back up, firing all the while, breaking through directly under the floating fortress ... The pirates follow. Then the dwarf gets an idea. He starts to tie himself off with a rope mounted to the main mast. He tests it to be sure, holds a Feather Token: Anchor in his hand, and jumps. Pendulum swinging he reaches the airship in pursuit, and tosses the token on board. Beautiful. I rule that it works on airships, and at full speed their ship nearly shatters with the sudden halt. The monk pulls the mad dwarf back on board, and the heroes enter the fortress for what then became more or less a dungeon crawl, with the threat of the sky pirates negated for now at least ... I'll hold off posting more, the adventure was pretty good all around I think, but this covers the "airship adventures" portion. Any feedback would be much appreciated :D -Nundahl P.S. I know the rules say airships wouldn't fall if the elemental were somehow suppressed ... but c'mon, where's the fun in that? I want my PC's to know they might become stains if they aren't too careful. Btw, the magic item the pirates used were a specialized arrow a rider on the Yrthak fired, that essentially saps an elemental's constitution and strength, not a real item but fun for the purpose it fullfiled.
Nundahl 03-28-07, 12:53 PM	I failed my "avoid rambling" save. -Nundahl
Daydreamer 03-28-07, 01:31 PM	voyage of the goldren dragon, stand alone adventure for 7th level characters that introduces them to a unique airship and is a spring board for more adventures. With alot of work it could be redone for a first level group i guess, or lower level , whatever ur starting at.
Melvin the Mediocre 03-28-07, 01:41 PM	They could do search and rescue missions in hostile territories, such as finding the remnants of <orgrave University explorations and getting as many survivors as possible back to safety. Saving the world from organized assaults of any monster that flies could be fun. Air elementals, effretties, and rogue dragons all come to mind. Elementals and effretties could all be under the control of an evil wizard with a flying carpet and a powerful magic lamp. Building up a fleet that protects trade routes between continents might work. Battles raging between airborn vessels and underwater monsters could be a really interesting dynamic. For example sahuagin are ravaging a fleet of sailing ships from the bottom side, the characters are flying over head and must figure out how to save the ships. Exploration and mapping out remote continents is just made for an airship campaign. Imagine flying the ship through narrow, windy canyons to chart them out. OR flyinbg down the shaft of smoldering volcanoes to discover a lake of molten rock peppered with dragon shards. OF course the demons in the magma will try to protect their treasures.
Melvin the Mediocre 03-28-07, 01:59 PM	Another idea I just had... What if some entity or organization posseses or controls six or seven Lyrandar (or gnome) airship captains. The PCs could be hired to hunt them all down. If possible, save them and restore them. If all else fails, destroy them. Then the question becomes, how much turmoil could a fiend, for example, cause with complete control of 7 Airships? Will he slam them into the populous markets, using the fire elemental to maximize deaths and destruction? Or will he subtly use them to kidnap elite passengers like kings, queens, and Dragonmarked barons?
Kensan_Oni 03-28-07, 02:00 PM	Holy Silver Flame! Possessed Airships! That is like so cruel!!!!
Macrovore 03-28-07, 04:53 PM	Firefly. That's all I'm gonna say.