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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Gilladian" data-source="post: 4626310" data-attributes="member: 2093">I want to thank everyone for their ideas and opinions so far, and to ask you to keep them coming. So far, I have to say that you've given me great food for thought.A few tidbits about my campaign world; it consists of relatively low magic (normal DnD magic up to about 12th level but advancement stops about there). So airships would be a big increase in magic level.Some teleportation devices exist, but they're rare and ancient, from a previous empire, which also had flying ships, castles and cities!So there is "grounds" for adding airships, but they'd be ancient magitech. The group that would likely control them are the Shalani - a people who once ruled a magical kingdom, but had it destroyed because of their hubris - which left them roving, homeless wanderers. Having them be the only keepers of the secret of flight somehow seems appropriate.The ships would be powered by something like a magical fuel or gas. The ships themselves would not be lighter than air, but their fuel source could easily be. I'm thinking that the fuel only works when properly "charged" in some way, which only the Shalani know how to do.Likely, the fuel comes from the dwarves - a very reclusive and slightly paranoid people who rely on the Shalani as their trade outlet to the rest of the world.The Shalani would thus do their best to keep their airships close under their own control, but even if they got taken by others, the magic (fuel source) would soon expire, leaving the ships worthless. It would be hard for someone to apply leverage to both the shalani to acquire a ship, and the dwarves to get access to fuel.The ships would be fast, but unable to carry a great deal, and fragile. Dragons would, as many people mentioned, greatly dislike them and try to destroy them, making their use somewhat problematic. The Shalani can build more, but the process is slow and expensive. They might lease one or two out to a given nation, but not often and not for warlike purposes (war does disrupt trade!).Kingdoms are spread fairly wide apart IMC (mostly because they've grown up around isolated surivors of the Empire-destroying war 400 years earlier), so travel has always been difficult. I don't want to do away with that, but to add one way to minimize the difficulty if all cards are played properly.That's about it, so far.</blockquote>

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