Airship Raid! [Archive] - Wizards Community

Airship Raid! [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Uratoh
07-17-06, 02:52 AM I've got a grand idea for an upcoming encounter for my PCs...they must capture a statue of great importance being transported by Airship before it reaches its destination. A perfect place for a Windwright Captain NPC to be introduced with an either faster or just plain stripped down ship to catch/intercept, and the PCs leap on board, fight off the guards, get the statue, escape.

The forces on guard on the ship consist of 10 Zakya Rakshasa, disguised as humans, several on deck and more below, not all at once. In addition there is one 14th level Conjuration specialist/Tharmaturgist in charge of the transportation, who while wanting to avoid combat, will be quite capable of summoning allies (Especially perhaps onto the deck of the PC's ship...). If the situation turns grim (Either he's found or they get the statue) He'll teleport away and return shortly on the back of an Abyssal Drake, giving the PCs a pursuit to shake once they get the statue.

Now, I obviously know roughly how this is going to go down, have the flow, etc...my main questions are basic critique on the encounter, as well as some info on the exact mechanics of leaping from airship to airship..ways to make it easy/safe, for PCs whos jumping abilities arent up to snuff (or perhaps they just stay back and guard), that sort of thing, how close two airships can actually get without elemental ring troubles...and how exactly do you judge range to a target when everything's theoretically moving 60 feet a round or so?
Uratoh
07-17-06, 11:57 PM Wouldent normally bump like this, but after the downtime...
Identitystolen
07-18-06, 12:13 AM Stormwrack had a pretty good layout for ship combat, so if you have it or know someone who does I suggest borrowing it and looking at it (though I don't know if you'd want to buy it, very setting specific.) I just got back from work and my brain is in no mood to think about speed and distance calculations.... For info on the airship itself, check out Eberron's Exsplorers Handbook (this is worth the money in my opinion.)

Anyhow, my suggestion on boarding the opposing airship sithout having to jump a gap is to simply position the PC's over the oppositions. then they can A) Jump straight down onto the other ship or B) throw some lines down and zip onto their deck. The latter of the two options is probably safer considering the opposing ship is most likely in evasive mode and isn't just moving in a nice straight line.

If you have a wizard on board powerful enough to supress the opposing ship's elemental, that will make their ship dead in the air and easier to get on board. The elemental ring is 10ft out from the ship's hull in all directions aroung midship, so keep that in mind while getting close in. Something else to keep in mind, a elemntal ring can do 3d6 damage (I think, not sure though) when it comes into contact with something. Fire damage with a fire elemental and bludgeoning (I think) with air. Come up with your own ideas on that.

Thats all the info I can come up with off the top of my head... Just got off of 2nd shift and bed is calling. G'night
Tarionz_Cousin
07-18-06, 09:05 PM Great idea. This sounds like it should be a lot of fun.

First, if the ships are moving at the same speed, their relative velocity is zero. It should be relatively easy to jump from one to the other if you can clear the distance. If they are moving at different speeds, you could work out an equation to determine modifiers. Something like: Negative Modifier equals (Difference in Speed) x2. Example, if one ship is moving 5 mph faster than the other, there is a -10 modifier to the Jump roll. I haven't worked this out or tried to be realistic. This is just a wild guess.

Second, you might want to figure out how much damage fire does per round, and at what speed it is extinguished by the wind (if that normally happens. I don't know).

Finally, I would have the bad guys be prepared with ropes, tokens of feather fall, rings of the ram (to repel/push people) and other items that show that they are prepared.

Let us know how it works out!!
Errant
07-18-06, 11:15 PM If I was running that mission I'd direct the pursuing airship pilot to "nudge" the target ship and have the boarding party waiting, gathered at the bow Ready to throw grappling hooks and jump when the ships are about to collide. The grappling hooks will hopefully keep the bow of the pursuing ship in close contact with the target ship and quickly jumping when the ships come into contact (with the pursuing ship a little above the target's deck) minimizes the chance of the target swerving out of the way at the worst possible moment.

This could make the pursuit tense, as the target ship's crew fires missiles at the pursuing ship/boarding party while the two pilots make opposed rolls to dodge and weave round by round until the pursuer is close enough. A tough piloting check upon collision to avoid significantly damaging both airships.

Odds are when the airships come into contact a lot of people are going to be thrown prone by the impact, boarders and defenders alike (DC 15 Balance check for the defenders/DC 15 Jump check for the boarders to keep their footing? Circumstance bonuses as appropriate - braced defenders/rope-using or featherfalling boarders etc).

Sounds like a fun scene!

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Uratoh 07-17-06, 02:52 AM	I've got a grand idea for an upcoming encounter for my PCs...they must capture a statue of great importance being transported by Airship before it reaches its destination. A perfect place for a Windwright Captain NPC to be introduced with an either faster or just plain stripped down ship to catch/intercept, and the PCs leap on board, fight off the guards, get the statue, escape. The forces on guard on the ship consist of 10 Zakya Rakshasa, disguised as humans, several on deck and more below, not all at once. In addition there is one 14th level Conjuration specialist/Tharmaturgist in charge of the transportation, who while wanting to avoid combat, will be quite capable of summoning allies (Especially perhaps onto the deck of the PC's ship...). If the situation turns grim (Either he's found or they get the statue) He'll teleport away and return shortly on the back of an Abyssal Drake, giving the PCs a pursuit to shake once they get the statue. Now, I obviously know roughly how this is going to go down, have the flow, etc...my main questions are basic critique on the encounter, as well as some info on the exact mechanics of leaping from airship to airship..ways to make it easy/safe, for PCs whos jumping abilities arent up to snuff (or perhaps they just stay back and guard), that sort of thing, how close two airships can actually get without elemental ring troubles...and how exactly do you judge range to a target when everything's theoretically moving 60 feet a round or so?
Uratoh 07-17-06, 11:57 PM	Wouldent normally bump like this, but after the downtime...
Identitystolen 07-18-06, 12:13 AM	Stormwrack had a pretty good layout for ship combat, so if you have it or know someone who does I suggest borrowing it and looking at it (though I don't know if you'd want to buy it, very setting specific.) I just got back from work and my brain is in no mood to think about speed and distance calculations.... For info on the airship itself, check out Eberron's Exsplorers Handbook (this is worth the money in my opinion.) Anyhow, my suggestion on boarding the opposing airship sithout having to jump a gap is to simply position the PC's over the oppositions. then they can A) Jump straight down onto the other ship or B) throw some lines down and zip onto their deck. The latter of the two options is probably safer considering the opposing ship is most likely in evasive mode and isn't just moving in a nice straight line. If you have a wizard on board powerful enough to supress the opposing ship's elemental, that will make their ship dead in the air and easier to get on board. The elemental ring is 10ft out from the ship's hull in all directions aroung midship, so keep that in mind while getting close in. Something else to keep in mind, a elemntal ring can do 3d6 damage (I think, not sure though) when it comes into contact with something. Fire damage with a fire elemental and bludgeoning (I think) with air. Come up with your own ideas on that. Thats all the info I can come up with off the top of my head... Just got off of 2nd shift and bed is calling. G'night
Tarionz_Cousin 07-18-06, 09:05 PM	Great idea. This sounds like it should be a lot of fun. First, if the ships are moving at the same speed, their relative velocity is zero. It should be relatively easy to jump from one to the other if you can clear the distance. If they are moving at different speeds, you could work out an equation to determine modifiers. Something like: Negative Modifier equals (Difference in Speed) x2. Example, if one ship is moving 5 mph faster than the other, there is a -10 modifier to the Jump roll. I haven't worked this out or tried to be realistic. This is just a wild guess. Second, you might want to figure out how much damage fire does per round, and at what speed it is extinguished by the wind (if that normally happens. I don't know). Finally, I would have the bad guys be prepared with ropes, tokens of feather fall, rings of the ram (to repel/push people) and other items that show that they are prepared. Let us know how it works out!!
Errant 07-18-06, 11:15 PM	If I was running that mission I'd direct the pursuing airship pilot to "nudge" the target ship and have the boarding party waiting, gathered at the bow Ready to throw grappling hooks and jump when the ships are about to collide. The grappling hooks will hopefully keep the bow of the pursuing ship in close contact with the target ship and quickly jumping when the ships come into contact (with the pursuing ship a little above the target's deck) minimizes the chance of the target swerving out of the way at the worst possible moment. This could make the pursuit tense, as the target ship's crew fires missiles at the pursuing ship/boarding party while the two pilots make opposed rolls to dodge and weave round by round until the pursuer is close enough. A tough piloting check upon collision to avoid significantly damaging both airships. Odds are when the airships come into contact a lot of people are going to be thrown prone by the impact, boarders and defenders alike (DC 15 Balance check for the defenders/DC 15 Jump check for the boarders to keep their footing? Circumstance bonuses as appropriate - braced defenders/rope-using or featherfalling boarders etc). Sounds like a fun scene!