Eberron: How do skycoaches work????

[The_Magician]

For an unique kind of transportantion, but very important and abundante in the main city of Eberron - Sharn, the city of towers -, I think there is very little information regarding these. There is a lot of information of where you can find them, but I couldn't find it anywhere HOW they work. I have searched even for interviews online done by the creator of the setting, and nothing. The closest I got was that the manifest zone allows the boat to soar on th sky like air ships. But who drives the damn skyboat and how? Do they need air elementals? The book says it is similar to a rowboat. Do we have to row the skycoach? Does anyone know about this? I'm so lost....

 

[Klaus]

There are a few skycoach scenes in the novel City of Towers.

They have the basic shape of a rowboat (minus the oars), but some are more slender, while others have canopies. In some the pilot sits at the front, in others at the back. The skycoaches are enchanted with flying spells tied to the manifest zone in Sharn (they don't function anywhere else). They don't have bound elementals.

My best guess is that to drive one you need Profession (pilot).

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

They're powered by question marks, so you're in good shape.

 

[The_Magician]

Thanks Klaus. *gives a box full of ??????????????????? to Whiz* =P

 

[haiiro]

My best guess is that to drive one you need Profession (pilot).

Profession (airship pilot) would also be a good option.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

They work through magic. Sufficiently advanced magic.

 

[Wycen]

The DM for our Eberron campaign has personalized his coaches.

They are larger than a row boat, if by row boat you mean a craft meant for 4 people max. They have a magic blue sphere in the center of the boat. "Do NOT touch the sphere!" is a constant reminder of our favorite sky coach captain. If you DO touch the sphere, it winks out of existence and you fall through the now empty hole in the boat and the boat plummets a few (?) feet until the sphere forms again a short time later.

 

[mcrow]

coaches fly by high powered enchantments that are made by one of the dragonmarked houses. (which one is for transportation I can't remember @ the moment)

Larger ships are powered by bound elementals.

 

[Rel]

The ones in my Sharn campaign are crafted cooperatively by House Cannith and House Lyarandar. They can be flown by anybody with sufficient training but the best pilots are probably going to be members of Lyrandar.

I do like the "don't touch the sphere!" idea though. I wish I'd thought of doing something like that previously (my group just left Sharn for a goodly while so it's a bit late for me to implement it now).

 

[Turanil]

I couldn't find it anywhere HOW they work.

They use a mystical power that you generate through handwaving. (And then you just have to declare "it's advanced magic".)