I've been thinking about running a game including air ships similar to what exist in the Ebberon Campain setting. However I'm unsure as to what mecanic to use to pilot them.
I was going to give each ship a fly speed and I was thinking they could then be regulated with use of Fly skill however I was not sure if this would be an appropriate use of that skill.
Thoughts?
If you want to tie it to a skill, Fly makes sense if you don't want to make a player take ranks in Profession(Air Ship Pilot).
Would you keep the same elemental binding idea? If so, you could also make it about being able to speak the language of the bound elemental, and direct it verbally with a series of commands that the elemental instantly obeys.
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As Jason Lillis said above, I think Profession(Air Ship Pilot) would work or speaking to the elemental. It all depends of how the ship has the ability to fly and how it is controlled.
If the air ship was controlled as a sailing ship and flew based on magic, Profession(sailor) would be appropriate. Use the normal ship controls but let the wheel tilt to determine up and down and when the anchor is dropped it has a immovable rod effect.
If the ship flies based on a mechanical perspective, use Profession(pilot). Clockwork wings, alchemical thrusters, hot air, or etc.
If the ship uses magic controls, Profession(controller) or a Knowledge(arcane{or divine}).
If the spellcaster himself is keeping the ship in the air, Fly or Spellcraft might be more appropriate.
AD&D Campaign We used the bound elemental idea for a while. The elemental for our ship had to be coaxed into doing what the group wanted via skill checks. During ship combat, the elemental would do exactly as requested because it thought it was in danger. Until he was told that if the ship was destroyed he would be freed...
As for simulating the height on a map, we used either a die to mark how many 10 foot increments one ship was above another. And just using the new flight rules in conjunction with the fast play ship combat should suffice.
If you want to tie it to a skill, Fly makes sense if you don't want to make a player take ranks in Profession(Air Ship Pilot).
I'd go with Profession as well.
I see fly (as a skill) as a being similar to running or swimming. Many ranks in "Swim" doesn't make you a good sailor.
There is a certain poetry about knowing the sky and its capricious weather, its wild winds and its treacherous storms. It may take magic to make a ship lift-off but it takes skill to make it fly...
IMO, it beats casting the spell "turn right" or asking the elemental to take you 150 miles north-north-east.
'findel
I just made a new skill Pilot in which you can choose Aircraft, Landcraft, or Watercraft.
I just made a new skill Pilot in which you can choose Aircraft, Landcraft, or Watercraft.
We did this in our homebrew Sci Fi/Fantasy crossover setting.
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I tend to err on the side of simplicity, so in that case, Pobbes wins.
Run em just like regular ships, but separate "zones" for various types to fly in. For example:
Speeder: Flys from ground level (<5' ground clearance) to as high as 25' above the ground. Good for replacing wagons, can clear low lying buildings and trees.
Light Aircraft: Minimum flight height 25', can go as high as 750'. Your general purpose "flitter," used for medium range transport, fighter-pilot stuff, etc.
Heavy Aircraft: Minimum Height 25', Maximum ceiling of 2000'. These are your Eberron style air galleons, capable of long-hauling massive amounts of cargo (or ordnance) and generally will have some kind of life-support system (likely just heat, maybe some kind of pressurized system.)
High Altitude Craft Minimum height 500', maximum ceiling = space. Here's your spelljammer style craft, incapable of landing (normally) in atmosphere (for any number of reasons), but can sustain flight indefinitely and manage extra-atmospheric flight.
Everything gets handled by the Profession(Sailor) checks of captain, and has minimum crew, size, cargo, etc just like sea-ships. Navigation gets handled by Knowledge (Geography) & Survival (just like currently), and ancillary skills on board fall under the normal ruleset (like climb, acrobatics, etc.)
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I see piloting as more pertaining to smaller crafts that can be piloted by one person. Profession (airshipman) or something similarly named would be used to navigate an airship or something that must be crewed.I just made a new skill Pilot in which you can choose Aircraft, Landcraft, or Watercraft.We did this in our homebrew Sci Fi/Fantasy crossover setting.
That is the reason I use Profession(sailor) and have the ship run like a regular sailing ship. The ship's wheel tilt forward to dive and pull back to ascend. The ship's wizard and/or druid use wind spells to propel the ship when regular winds are not present or weak.
Start with the fly and permanancy spells.
1) Use regular ships, costing 10 times as much. Increases in ceiling, speed, maneoverability, durability, etc. cost more. Most airships will be slower, low altitude tubs.
2) Set requirments for controling the ship, such as 'able to cast Fly' or 'caster level X' for a ship of Y size.
Your all giving me a lot to think about especially given that I'm planning to have a few different types of airships. I'm planning to have your normal magically enchanted airship and then also have a living airship that only one nation can currently build. I need to settle on exact methods of enchantment and such still. I'll keep you all informed.
Your all giving me a lot to think about especially given that I'm planning to have a few different types of airships. I'm planning to have your normal magically enchanted airship and then also have a living airship that only one nation can currently build. I need to settle on exact methods of enchantment and such still. I'll keep you all informed.
Ah, I think I misunderstood the question form your initial post.
In any cases, I think have different types of airship is the way to go. Nevertheless, I would keep levitation different from locomotion.
'findel
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How to Deal with flying Airships?
Short of having your PCs compulsorily point at the Sky and scream in terror..."Dragon!" on accout of the fact that they will have likely seen neither if you have gamed well enough, THey should have no such piloting skille unless they are trained in it.
So I suggest they get used to being piloted by the Gnome Fevola who has repeatedly betrayed them before but can be intimidated into providing them a ride on his airship...
I'm all in favor of adding use to much-neglected skills. When one looks at how Perception = Search + Listen + Spot + others, allowing Profession (sailor) to cover airships isn't at all unreasonable nor game-breaking in any way. Creating an additional skill (Pilot (aircraft) or whatever) is, to my view, nothing but an unjustified skill tax.
Just my 2 cp on the matter.
Short of having your PCs compulsorily point at the Sky and scream in terror..."Dragon!" on accout of the fact that they will have likely seen neither if you have gamed well enough, THey should have no such piloting skille unless they are trained in it.
By this point in the game air ship will have been around for at least 100 years and while still outnumbered by normal sea faring ships by 100 to 1, they'll be a common sight in many trade ports and flying over many areas.
I'll likely be using profession (sailor) I think.
I would also point out that unless it's going to be a big thing in your campaign - IE, the PCs are expected to own an airship (or a PC wants one/is crewing one) - you really don't have to worry too much about it. Vehicles should otherwise travel at the speed of plot.
I would also point out that unless it's going to be a big thing in your campaign - IE, the PCs are expected to own an airship (or a PC wants one/is crewing one) - you really don't have to worry too much about it. Vehicles should otherwise travel at the speed of plot.
This is a very good point. I'll most likely just use some of the existing rules for ships and the fly skill.
+1 for Profession (sailor), you've already got the tool for the job.
If you like, you could impose a penalty the way Ride does "Exotic types of ships can also be controlled, albeit at a -5 penalty"
One.. I hate hate hate when someone uses the phrase "skill tax". (Two..) I'd like you to take an ocean freighter pilot and put him in the cockpit of Zeppelin and see how far he'd get. Flying an airship is worlds different beyond boat travel.
1. Hate it all you like, but that's what it is.
2. "Realism" and D&D do not mix. Ever. I'd like you to take a pinch of bat guano and make an exploding ball of fire shoot out of it wherever you direct it, but no matter how much guano you have, the trick mysteriously only works once per day. I'd like you to swing a 15-lb. metal implement at full strength for hours without tiring. Etc.
Each skill costs the same amount (1 skill point per rank). Although it would be "realistic" to divide them still further (Profession: Sailor gets separated into Profession: Caraval Pilot, Profession: Small Boating, Profession: Galleon Captain, Profession: Viking Longship Sailor, etc., etc. -- "I'd like you to take a sunfish sailor and put him at the controls of a trans-ocean oil tanker and see how far he gets!") -- that's counterproductive to a good game. In fact, it makes for a really lousy game, in which people don't bother learning profession skills at all because they get so much more bang for their buck by sinking those skill points into Perception, which has actual major game effects and covers about six different major things, instead of just one incredibly focused thing.