Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Agentrock 01-03-06, 03:29 PM	I'm running a campaign through the GotEC adventure and have a few industrious thinking players - they want to aquire the airship that the baddies use to get to Xen'drik. In the adventure, there is no mention where exactly the ship is at, nor what happens to it when the baddies are defeated. I have some ideas on where/and what the airship event will be. I'm sure others have had this scenario brought up - what did you do? How did it work out? I'd be curious to hear from GMs and Players on the situation or a similar one.
cuhullen 01-03-06, 04:28 PM	You might want to drop a spoiler tag on this before too many people start replying.
Agentrock 01-03-06, 04:45 PM	You might want to drop a spoiler tag on this before too many people start replying. Done - I didn't think I gave away anything substantial about the adventure at all...but just in case it's been marked on the subject line.
DragonWatcher 01-03-06, 04:50 PM	Some thoughts: First thing: Do you want your group to get their own airship at this point? This is perhaps the most important question that you have to answer. It will open up a whole can of worms, such as them being able to travel nearly anywhere they want without the need to worry about overland/sea obstacles. They will be able to circumvent most normal travel encounters, this means not only random encounters, but even some of the "in story" encounters will have to be specially developed to take the airship into account, which could harm the suspension of disbelief during a game. Additionally, without a secure place to dock the ship, and a sufficient crew to support it, it could become more of a burden than a blessing. If you decide that you don't want them to have an airship, there are a couple tactics that you can use: 1. The party can't find the ship: Perhaps it dropped off the badguys and left, scheduling a pickup at some unknown date/time/place. Perhaps it's just well hidden, or went someplace that's nowhere nearby and the PCs can search for weeks without finding it. 2. The party can't get to the ship: They find it, but as it's hovering hundreds of feet above the ground, they can't get to it. Do your players already have some mass means of flight? If not, reaching the ship will be a problem. After all, airships don't ever actually land. 3. Overwhelming forces: Just because the party was able to whoop on the bad guys that came from the ship doesn't mean that the ones still on the ship will be as easy. Maybe they're the most skilled of the EC, maybe they just outnumber the PCs 10:1. Either way, the odds don't look good for the PCs to "liberate" the ship. 4. Self-destruction: The party finds the ship, has a means to reach it, and whoops the butts of the crew remaining on-board. It would be perfectly cinematic for the pilot to see that they stand no chance, expose the Khyber shard that houses the elemental, and shatter it, releasing the elemental and causing the ship to take a nosedive into the jungle below. At worst, all the PCs die for their greed, at best, they can scavenge some plunder, but either way, no airship. If, on the other hand, you have no problem with them having an airship, give them a chance. Let them find it, give them a way on board, and see how they do. Just play the crew smart. If the battle is going poorly, one of the crew might try to shatter the Khyber shard (see option 4 above), but one of the PC's should have a chance to stop him. Make them earn it... it's 92,000 gp worth of treasure for the ship alone, not to mention that its rarity makes it harder to get than just going to Zilargo and ordering it. Chances are that the EC stole it to begin with... and now the rightful owner might come after the PCs for possessing what was once rightfully his. Any way you slice it, it could be as interesting as you want to make it. :)
Chiyo 01-03-06, 05:13 PM	If you don't want them to get the airship, nothing says that there aren't any more EC on board who will flee when they see PCs approaching, especially if they're aware of the fights in the temple. Depending on orders given, they might even be patrolling around to scout for incoming threats and thus not there when the PCs arrive. Secondly, finding an airship doesn't mean the PCs can make it do anything. Without and half-elf with lesser mark of storms, it could be extremely difficult for the PCs of that level to actually control the bound elemental enough to stir the airship. Getting the airship back to Sharn could be an adventure in itself hehe especially if the PCs have little to no navigation skills. But letting them have the airship could lead to more adventures as well, including retribution from the EC for the theft. And it might make them much easier for baddies to track down in such a conspicuous vehicle. Up to you which way to handle it but you have plenty of leeway to resolve it either way. For us, the guards spotted us early on and pulled up the anchor and sounded an alarm. When we emerged from the temple, they stayed well out of reach until it was clear that we were victorious and they just flew the airship away before we could attempt anything (we didn't really have any means to get there as a group any way).
cuhullen 01-03-06, 06:16 PM	My players will shortly be dealing with the same thing. They haven't mentioned anything about tracking down the airship yet. Should they decide to look for it they have several obstacles for them to overcome: 1st - They have to find it. The text states that Garrow, taking no chances with this airship had it hidden in the jungle nearby (I assume it's hovering in the upper canopy). With no direction it would be pretty dificult to find something in dense jungle that could be anywhere up to a few miles away in any direction. 2nd - They have to board (which they could do with the elemental skiff if they captured it) and then deal with the crew. This is potentially the most problematic as they will need the crew and pilot to do anything with the ship. Unless at least one of the party has Profession: sailor they won't have any inkling of how to operate the ship. Even for trained people piloting an airship is not always easy. Check out the section of the EH on controlling a bound elemental (pg 25) to get some guidelines. My plan is to make no suggestions or give them any help. If they decide to look for the ship and manage to come up with good ways to overcome the problems listed above then they might get an airship (which could, as Chiyo noted, lead to problems with the EC down the road). If they can't figure out how to get it then they won't. Getting that ship is almost a subquest in its own right.
Agentrock 01-04-06, 08:51 AM	Chances are that the EC stole it to begin with... and now the rightful owner might come after the PCs for possessing what was once rightfully his. Any way you slice it, it could be as interesting as you want to make it. :) :) That was the direction I was thinking prior to posting this thread - basically the ship belongs to a privateer captain (possibly similar to the captain and crew illustrated in the EH). But that ship is no longer in his control... The EC/Garrow would have basically "acquired" a new airship due to his destruction of his last one - and they more or less replaced most of the crew with their own men, but kept the prior captain and key crew members under lock and key with a threat of harm of loved ones and family members if they attempt to take back their ship. The idea is that if the party is (a) lucky enough to find the airship in the jungle and (b) defeats the occupying EC force, then they will have an airship possibly at their disposal. It's a big prize to gain, as stated above in other remarks, so I think once the EC force is wiped out, the original captain will resume ownership/command but will be indebted to the group (ie may work together with them...may ferry them at low or no cost on emergencies...etc etc.). It'd become a good contact for them...but one that may or may not be available since the captain/crew can't make a living ferrying around adventurers for free all of the time.
Agentrock 01-04-06, 08:55 AM	Secondly, finding an airship doesn't mean the PCs can make it do anything. Without and half-elf with lesser mark of storms, it could be extremely difficult for the PCs of that level to actually control the bound elemental enough to stir the airship. Getting the airship back to Sharn could be an adventure in itself hehe especially if the PCs have little to no navigation skills. But letting them have the airship could lead to more adventures as well, including retribution from the EC for the theft. And it might make them much easier for baddies to track down in such a conspicuous vehicle. Exactly - no one in the party has the marks nor skills to pilot the airship, which is why I'm thinking on the idea I posted above (the airship already has an owner and crew - but it's being "borrowed" by Garrow and his EC force at the moment). And I'm not overly opposed to them having "access" to an airship - especially for adventuring purposes/ideas. The EC are already a major enemy with this group...this just makes it more so. :D
Fabian 01-04-06, 10:03 AM	What is an elemental skiff? I've read the GoEC adventure but didn't see any mechanics for how this worked (assuming it's from there). Did I miss something? Should I reread that part or is the eemental skiff described someplace else? Thanks! Fabian
Agentrock 01-04-06, 01:55 PM	What is an elemental skiff? I've read the GoEC adventure but didn't see any mechanics for how this worked (assuming it's from there). Did I miss something? Should I reread that part or is the eemental skiff described someplace else? I don't remember if the skiffs are described in any of the main Eberron books - but they are briefly described in WotVB in which an EC airship uses to ferry EC soldiers to another airship for a mid-air boarding. In GotEC, a skiff is tied down as a sentry post along the river near the ruins where the EC are occupied. I am not sure what theirs stats are - or if the WotVB gave any info on them really. They, to me, seem to be short-ranged craft versus the longer range that a full airship would have.
cuhullen 01-04-06, 02:16 PM	As far as I know they haven't provided stats for the skiffs. Think of them to an Airship as a ships boat to an ocean going vessel. They fly reasonably short distances at whatever speed seems to suit the needs of your adventure (within reason). In WotVB they were used as boarding vessels from a pursuing ship.
(Psi)SeveredHead 01-04-06, 02:19 PM	I was reading Marked for Death, and it talked about airships being surrounded by a ring of fire (the elemental, in effect). Get rid of the ring. Put it inside the ship. Or whatever, as long as it can't be used to attack.
Jaek 01-04-06, 03:26 PM	I'm not familiar with the level range for this adventure, so I have to ask what level is the party? Our group recently gained access to an airship. We quickly realized however that other than it being somewhere to store stuff it was just a great big target. Additionally faster methods of travel are available to our party already via spells. In the end it was decided that we were better off without it and considering we didn't know for sure who all would come looking for us if we tried to sell it we simply ditched it. Just wasn't worth the trouble to us. My point is that based on their level would an airship potentially cause balance issues or would it simply be more of a perk and simply somewhere cool to hangout? If they can already do things like teleport or wind walk, meh no big deal. Just put the ship in location X and don't give it any more thought. If they come up with a reasonable plan to find it let them fight off any remaining crew as mentioned above then just give them the ship as a bonus pat on the back type reward. If you start feeling surly you can always have the "rightful" owners come looking for it. Maybe have some ex-members of the crew come gunning for them because of something hidden in a secret compartment in the ship somewhere. Frankly it can potentially be more of a tool for the DM than for the players so I wouldn't make obtaining it that difficult as long as it won't cause balance issues.
Agentrock 01-05-06, 10:22 AM	I'm not familiar with the level range for this adventure, so I have to ask what level is the party? For GotEC, the average party level should be around 6th. Which is part of the reason why I think it might be too powerful of a resource for them to have (as a group), but possibly (if they pursue the idea to find the ship) to allow them access to it through contacts of the ship's true owner.