Fleshing Out a Campaign World

[Cyrik Skylark]

Yeah, I know about the GoO SRD's. Still, it'd be nice to have the actual books.

As far as Last Exile goes... well, there's a reason I thought up the Great Storm, and it happens to coincide quite nicely with the Grand Stream. =b I actually thought up this world after finishing Scrapped Princess and Last Exile within a couple weeks of each other, and thought, "It'd be nice to develop the dichotomy of the freedom and beauty of Last Exile, with the "Sealed World" and moral ambiguity of Scrapped Princess... thus was born the Great Storm. (As a side note, didn't you just hate Delphine? Mensch, I was glad at the end of the series... Though I was sad about Deeo. Mou.) So, obviously, I agree with you as a source for inspiration. =b

Moving along:

Unless the outsiders are politically united on this, and unless they have a way of neutralizing magic other than the storm, I don't see how this is going to work. And even then I have my doubts. Sooner or later, someone is going to get sloppy, and a few people will escape.

<snip>

I think it would make the most sense if you needed something from outside the storm to get through - and even then, you'd have to figure out why there aren't any enterprising smugglers trying to sell it to the Exiles...

Well, WRT keeping the Exiles in the storm, the outsiders are fairly united; it's about the only thing they -do- agree about, but it is there. I imagine something like pre-WWI Europe, as far as the political situation goes, with a very loose League of Nations-type organization (granted, LoN didn't exist until after WWI, but this is a created world, after all; I think I can take some liberties.). Organization's main purpose is mostly to keep the Exiles in the Storm; other than that, it's fairly weak.

However, other than the Unobtainium, I don't think I'd want them to have a way of neutralizing magic... when/if the PC's get out, I don't want to just randomly deny them their "special" point. So you're probably right here - require outside-storm elements to power non-magical airships. I think I would like to keep the effects of Unobtainium (I really need to give it a better name, since I'm not trying for comedy with this setting =b) on the Exiles - anti-magic field + nausea - but logically, you're right - no matter how nauseous, it's a small price to pay for freedom. Granted, I could make it something like a Fort Save, DC 35, but that's not really the effect I'm going for. I picture something like uranium, where keeping it close will eventually kill you, but it won't immediately drop you to the ground. (The effect is only on magic-users, as well; a genetic weakness).

Hmm... or, here's a possibility. The steamship power systems rely on the interaction between two elements - the Unobtainium, and some other material. When placed in a solution of the other material, the Unobtainium emits heat at a precise, controlled, predictable amount. So, Unobtainium is mined in the Great Storm, but the other material is only available in the outside world - say, a product of tropical rain forests. Perhaps it's the sap of a large tree. (A synthetic version would be a major coup, but technology isn't that advanced yet.)

So, now the problem isn't the Unobtainium; it's the Absentius decidious. Said trees won't grow in the Storm naturally (though the Exiles could, of course, use magic to create an artificial environment for them), but a forest of the size needed to sustain a mass exodus would be, well, obvious. Smuggling could still happen, both of the processed sap, and of seedlings for the trees, but again, not on a scale large enough to sustain a mass exodus; with only one entry point, (and said entry point being the only point of political unity in the outside world) I'd imagine the place being fairly tightly guarded. The skilled or the well-placed could still get off a few shipments, but not on a large scale. (As adventure ideas... perhaps a few of the city-states have been secretly hoarding this stuff and ferreting it away in unseen corners of the Storm; it's a big place, and with magic at their side, there are plenty of oppurunities for hiding things.

Do new sorcerous lines arise spontaneously outside of the storm? If so, the outsiders might use the storm as a dumping ground for new lines, too - creating more diversity among the Exiles (and as we all know, "diversity" in RPGs means "conflict" ) and keeping the situation there dynamic.

Well, it's genetics, so yes, new lines do arise spontaneously. Depending on what those new lines are, they very well might dump them among the Exiles - anything that could potentially disrupt their control over their sorcerors, they'd dump. (Frex, they'd probably dump a sorceror capable of "Wish" at the first hint s/he might develop that particular ability; a sorceror who has somehow managed to conceal his development of said ability would make a nice character to run into - a non-Exile magic-user with free will. Could use him to create some nice conflict over the course of the campaign.)

I first pictured your airships like blimp vehicles. I am interested in what you picture them. Also maybe with Jurgen's knowledge you two can 'make it work' in the rules for the game.
I agree that it would be extremely hard to contain highly intelligent spell casters in a confinement area that has limited access and traffic. You guys have got to do it because this is such a cool idea!

As far as what they look like... well, whatever the creator wants them to look like! Generally, though, something along the lines of the ships from Last Exile, if you've seen it - almost like flying battleships. Or perhaps like some of the airships from the Final Fantasy series - there are some nice designs in there. And thanks for the compliment. =b

 

[Hunter]

My Pleasure Cyrik!

Jurgen thanks for the free links!

~Hunter

 

[Hunter]

Ah! Possible Exile cofinement solution:

Magical adamantine slave collars....

With dweomers of contingency spells of anti-magic and reduction/dimunition enchanted within them.

Once crossing the demi-plane the true silver slave collars
emit a combination contingency spell: first- an anti-magic shell in a 12'foot radius but extending 1 inchaway from the collar. (so the collar retains its enchantment).
Then a reduction/dimunition charge that affects the collar based on its initial enchantment creation shrinking it to 1/4 of its original size.

Once placed upon the neck, closed and then the proper powerwords are spoken, nothing short of a Wish Spell can remove them. However even that has been blocked by the creators.
For any foreign spell directly affecting the collar from the outside is automatically absorbed into the collar-i.e. a Rod of Absorption.
So it would take multiple Wish Spells to over ride the absorption power. Even then it is not worth it for upon reaching its maximum absorption level the collar then explodes in a magical evocation with blast radius of 10 feet per energy level and doing 2d20 hit points of damage per energy level absorbed. With 25 energy levels per collar thats 50d20 in a 250 foot radius.

Well? Jurgen, Cyrik? Comments? Suggestions?

~H

 

[TheLastMehina]

How to keep a large number of people docilely contained in a state of quasi-oppression.

Step One: Make Them Want To Be There.

Set up a special religion just for the Exiles. From the cradle to the grave, each and every Exile is taught that they are the Chosen People of <Insert Deity Here>. Write a history for the Exiles, which may or may not have any basis in reality. Perhaps a prophet arose among the Exiles, and taught them the true nature of <IDH>. The Outsiders thought this was heresy, and persecuted the Exiles severely. But <IDH> took pity on his Chosen People, and led them to the land which is now the Great Storm. Perhaps the Storm is <IDH>'s doing, as a way to protect his Chosen People. One day, the prophet will return and lead his people to righteous dominion over all the nations of the world - the catch being that the prophet will return to the Storm, and his Chosen People must be there to recieve him, or lose their chance at power.

Build up the religious teachings of the Exiles. The Storm is a land of peace and prosperity, where the Chosen People may flourish in virtue. Outside, though, is nothing but pain and sin and death. Mothers scare their children into obedience using stories of the horrors beyond the Storm.

Step Two: Give Them A Goal Within Their Borders To Work For.

Maybe the religion is more than a religion. Maybe it's something rather like the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages... not just a spiritual force, but a political and economic one, as well. Concentrate all the power of Exile society into the clergy. Those who are eligible to enter the clergy will then spend most of their time and effort climbing the clerical ladder, at the top of which is power and influence and money. Maybe throw in a few splinter sects for the main body of the religion to contend against, and focus their attention on.

Those who are not eligible to enter the clergy will work for some other goal. Perhaps members of the religion are encouraged to attend temple rituals regularly...but only members sufficiently worthy are allowed in. So most members will spend time and effort working to attain and maintain their worthiness, and be too busy to question what's outside the Storm.

Step Three: Distract Them.

Give the Exiles goals to work for, something that requires their whole society to back, such as the building of pyramids. Or the farming of the special Absentius Deciduous trees. Maybe both. If the Exiles are focused on how great life inside the Storm is, how bad it is outside the Storm, how critical it is for them to go to temple, and how necessary it is for them to help build new temples, most Exiles will be too wrapped up in those issues to really question.

War is generally a good thing to accomplish Step 3, but doesn't work well in a closed environment like the Storm. If you can find an enemy for them to fight, though, it would work well. Hell, you could make the enemy something akin to medieval "witches", or 1950s Communists - shadowly enemies which must be guarded against and rooted out for the good of the whole.

Of course you will come across questioners and dissenters, people who aren't content with the status quo, who see beyond the idiocies of the religion and the stagnation of the society. Those'd be your PCs .

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

Ah! Possible Exile cofinement solution:

Magical adamantine slave collars....

With dweomers of contingency spells of anti-magic and reduction/dimunition enchanted within them.

...

Well? Jurgen, Cyrik? Comments? Suggestions?

Bad idea, I'm afraid. Sooner or later, the Exiles are going to have children - and what are you going to do then?

While searching a ghetto for new children might be technically feasible (and even then you might not find everyone), searching an entire demiplane is going to be impossible without some ultra-tech solution (an army of robot drones, for example). And just who is going to pay for all these collars?

And if you were capable of producing them, why go to all the trouble of creating an entire demiplane for the Exiles? Why not just create a mundane prison for them? I thought that the whole point of the Storm was to keep them inside...

Ideally, the inherent properties of the Storm should be enough to keep the Exiles inside. While trade might be possible, it will alwas be a security risk, and thus limited. Most of the time, the Exiles will be left to their own devices - after a couple of centuries, the countries on the outsides will have better to do than participate in a massive effort to "pacify" the Exiles.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

How to keep a large number of people docilely contained in a state of quasi-oppression.

Step One: Make Them Want To Be There.

Set up a special religion just for the Exiles. From the cradle to the grave, each and every Exile is taught that they are the Chosen People of <Insert Deity Here>. Write a history for the Exiles, which may or may not have any basis in reality. Perhaps a prophet arose among the Exiles, and taught them the true nature of <IDH>. The Outsiders thought this was heresy, and persecuted the Exiles severely. But <IDH> took pity on his Chosen People, and led them to the land which is now the Great Storm. Perhaps the Storm is <IDH>'s doing, as a way to protect his Chosen People. One day, the prophet will return and lead his people to righteous dominion over all the nations of the world - the catch being that the prophet will return to the Storm, and his Chosen People must be there to recieve him, or lose their chance at power.

Something like this could work. Perhaps there was some sort of religious movement before the Exile that many, but not all of those with magical powers joined - they thought that they were the Chosen People and had the right to rule over their lessers like they saw fit (shades of Exalted here...). The mundane masses revolted and as a safety precaustion exiled all who didn't actively oppose these "Chosen".

Of course, the question remained: How did they pull that off? Perhaps there was some powerful magical conspiracy that included some epic-level diviners who foresaw disaster if these "Chosen" were not put into place - perhaps some magical cataclysm (more shades of Exalted...).

So maybe this religion still exists among the Exiles, and they are nominally in control inside the Storm. But don't make the Exiles monoreligious - there ought to be plenty of dissenters. More fun this way.

Build up the religious teachings of the Exiles. The Storm is a land of peace and prosperity, where the Chosen People may flourish in virtue. Outside, though, is nothing but pain and sin and death. Mothers scare their children into obedience using stories of the horrors beyond the Storm.

That, of course, means that only a few high-ranking church members get to trade with the outsiders. I wonder how they are going to justify the airships?

Step Two: Give Them A Goal Within Their Borders To Work For.

Maybe the religion is more than a religion. Maybe it's something rather like the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages... not just a spiritual force, but a political and economic one, as well. Concentrate all the power of Exile society into the clergy. Those who are eligible to enter the clergy will then spend most of their time and effort climbing the clerical ladder, at the top of which is power and influence and money. Maybe throw in a few splinter sects for the main body of the religion to contend against, and focus their attention on.

I wouldn't recommend making this church the sole power center, though. Maybe there are nobles and merchant houses who pay lip service to this religion out of political necessity, and to keep the masses in line - but who can get away with opposing the clerics in their own way.

Those who are not eligible to enter the clergy will work for some other goal. Perhaps members of the religion are encouraged to attend temple rituals regularly...but only members sufficiently worthy are allowed in. So most members will spend time and effort working to attain and maintain their worthiness, and be too busy to question what's outside the Storm.

Again, don't make the religion all-powerful. There are going to be plenty of people who pay this religion lip-service at best.

Step Three: Distract Them.

Give the Exiles goals to work for, something that requires their whole society to back, such as the building of pyramids. Or the farming of the special Absentius Deciduous trees. Maybe both. If the Exiles are focused on how great life inside the Storm is, how bad it is outside the Storm, how critical it is for them to go to temple, and how necessary it is for them to help build new temples, most Exiles will be too wrapped up in those issues to really question.

Of course, the question is why the Exiles don't just use magic for all this work - after all, they are supposed to be pretty proficient with this. Though some sort of communal project that needs constant maintenance to keep working and the people alive would be useful...

War is generally a good thing to accomplish Step 3, but doesn't work well in a closed environment like the Storm. If you can find an enemy for them to fight, though, it would work well. Hell, you could make the enemy something akin to medieval "witches", or 1950s Communists - shadowly enemies which must be guarded against and rooted out for the good of the whole.

This will do nicely. Ideally, you'd want an enemy that can hide among "normal people", or even appear as them (doppelgangers would do nicely) - this way, the religious police can justify it if they take away people from their homes in the middle of the night...

One final piece of advice: The Exiles should come up with most of these structures on their own. All this requires much too much effort to be maintained by the Outsiders effectively - after all, there aren't even any of them inside the Storm most of the time...

 

[TheLastMehina]

Something like this could work. Perhaps there was some sort of religious movement before the Exile that many, but not all of those with magical powers joined - they thought that they were the Chosen People and had the right to rule over their lessers like they saw fit (shades of Exalted here...). The mundane masses revolted and as a safety precaustion exiled all who didn't actively oppose these "Chosen".

Of course, the question remained: How did they pull that off? Perhaps there was some powerful magical conspiracy that included some epic-level diviners who foresaw disaster if these "Chosen" were not put into place - perhaps some magical cataclysm (more shades of Exalted...).

So maybe this religion still exists among the Exiles, and they are nominally in control inside the Storm. But don't make the Exiles monoreligious - there ought to be plenty of dissenters. More fun this way.

Possibly. What I had in mind was that this was more or less a constructed myth - it's truth was a moot point, as it was merely a way to indoctrinate the Exiled to enjoy being Exiles. I agree with you that dissenters make it more fun, but more on this later

That, of course, means that only a few high-ranking church members get to trade with the outsiders. I wonder how they are going to justify the airships?

What I had in mind was akin to an Asimov short story I read awhile ago. The title escapes me, but it was about an enclosed society much like this one. One man was responsible for waste disposal... basically, all he did was press a few buttons every day and send the sewage to the outsiders to deal with. However, he had inherited the culture of the Untouchables - his contact with human waste made him unfit for personal contact outside his wife (provided by committee) and children (who would inherit his social role). Perhaps the class, or segment of the clergy, which deals with the traders is looked down upon, and segregated. On the flip side, it could be a great honor - only a few members of the clergy are percieved as "worthy" enough to risk contact with the Outsiders without putting their soul in peril.

I wouldn't recommend making this church the sole power center, though. Maybe there are nobles and merchant houses who pay lip service to this religion out of political necessity, and to keep the masses in line - but who can get away with opposing the clerics in their own way.

What I had in mind was a society structured along the same lines as the society Fritz Leiber wrote about in "Gather, Darkness!", or religion as it was structured in the Middle Ages, or even modern theocracies (Iran comes to mind). Religion isn't just a spiritual practice - it's intimately tied up with politics and economics. Social concerns are also religious concerns. Sure, there are people who may not believe the religion - but they need to go within the system if they want to gain political or economic or social influence. Another society structured like this which comes to mind is the Bandakar Empire in "Naked Empire" by Terry Goodkind.

Of course, the question is why the Exiles don't just use magic for all this work - after all, they are supposed to be pretty proficient with this. Though some sort of communal project that needs constant maintenance to keep working and the people alive would be useful....

I was under the impression the Storm was a giant anti-magic/wild magic zone where magic was nearly impossible to make use of for mundane uses. If not, then perhaps only the high-ranking clergy members are allowed to use magic. Or magic is only to take place during the super-sacred temple rituals. Also, if the trees are what the Exiles trade for food, then tree farming would probably take up a rather large sector of Exile economy. Perhaps the only people allowed to use magic are not the clergy, but the tree farmers. Or maybe the clergy are the tree farmers.

This will do nicely. Ideally, you'd want an enemy that can hide among "normal people", or even appear as them (doppelgangers would do nicely) - this way, the religious police can justify it if they take away people from their homes in the middle of the night...

One final piece of advice: The Exiles should come up with most of these structures on their own. All this requires much too much effort to be maintained by the Outsiders effectively - after all, there aren't even any of them inside the Storm most of the time...

The enemy I was thinking of was rather like the dissenters you mention above. Again, back to Leiber's "Gather, Darkness!", what I had in mind was a giant conspiracy of "heretics" which may or may not be real, or may or may not be as extensive as the clergy makes it out to be. Perhaps the Exiles feel they are under constant attack from Communist Sympathizers, or Witches, or Minions of Satan - there don't actually need to be Communist Sympathizers, or Witches, or Minions of Satan. What there should be, though, is a spectacular trial and execution of a supposed CS/W/MoS on a regular basis. It keeps the dissenting population down (assuming the executions don't get out of hand), keeps non-dissenters afraid, and provides sense of togetherness and relief for the general population when they see a CS/W/MoS executed for the good of the whole.

 

[Cyrik Skylark]

Something like this could work. Perhaps there was some sort of religious movement before the Exile that many, but not all of those with magical powers joined - they thought that they were the Chosen People and had the right to rule over their lessers like they saw fit (shades of Exalted here...). The mundane masses revolted and as a safety precaustion exiled all who didn't actively oppose these "Chosen".

I like this (though I agree with TheLastMehina's later point that the "truth" of this religion is a moot point, as it is with all the religions in this world - in Unnamed-ia, religion is very much a socio-political construct). It gives a more concrete reason for the revolt, beyond, "They oppressed us and we revolted." In effect, it was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Of course, the question remained: How did they pull that off? Perhaps there was some powerful magical conspiracy that included some epic-level diviners who foresaw disaster if these "Chosen" were not put into place - perhaps some magical cataclysm (more shades of Exalted...).

I'm not sure about divination, but there were definitely a sizeable number of dissenters who joined with the commoners to oust the Chosen; or perhaps... hmm... Hunter's idea about the slave collars is pretty well infeasible for the Exiles themselves, but I do envision something like it for the pet sorcerors of the Outsiders. Perhaps, rather than these being magical collars, they're some form of Unobtainium, which... hmm... rather than suppressing magic, it puts the user into a sort of hypnotic, catatonic state, very susceptible to suggestion. So, they make the collars, and mob Chosen, put collars on, and now they've got pet sorcs.

Of course, that raises the question, why bother with the Storm, if you could just do that? So perhaps a different idea - simple dissenters from the religion. However, eventually, the outsiders would have to figure out some control mechanism for the sorcerors. Well, we can leave that for later, though a variant of Hunter's idea could work - something cheap, though. A similiar (though less powerful) magic item is in the Book of Exalted Deeds, and its price tag is well over 100k. Clearly, too much to use on a large group of people.

So maybe this religion still exists among the Exiles, and they are nominally in control inside the Storm. But don't make the Exiles monoreligious - there ought to be plenty of dissenters. More fun this way.

Definitely. They've been done there a decent amount of time - culture isn't static. Also, each individual city-state would subsume it to their own purposes, changing it around to fit their particular ideologies.

What I had in mind was akin to an Asimov short story I read awhile ago. The title escapes me, but it was about an enclosed society much like this one. One man was responsible for waste disposal... basically, all he did was press a few buttons every day and send the sewage to the outsiders to deal with. However, he had inherited the culture of the Untouchables - his contact with human waste made him unfit for personal contact outside his wife (provided by committee) and children (who would inherit his social role). Perhaps the class, or segment of the clergy, which deals with the traders is looked down upon, and segregated. On the flip side, it could be a great honor - only a few members of the clergy are percieved as "worthy" enough to risk contact with the Outsiders without putting their soul in peril.

It needn't even be an honor or a "trash" calling - merely a calling. What I'm thinking of is something from Haibane Renmei - in Haibane, the only ones who are allowed to go into the outside world are the Toga; additionally, the townspeople aren't allowed to communicate directly with the Toga. That role is performed by the Communicator of the Haibane Renmei. In both cases, the participants are masked; the masses have no idea who either are, what they look like, etc. However, I think I'd like it to be a combination of honor and distrust between those who trade with the outsiders and the masses, varying from town to town.

I wouldn't recommend making this church the sole power center, though. Maybe there are nobles and merchant houses who pay lip service to this religion out of political necessity, and to keep the masses in line - but who can get away with opposing the clerics in their own way.

Definitely. It's a force to be reckoned with, but far from the only power source. Exactly what the other power sources are depends on the city-state, but it doesn't have a monopoly.

I was under the impression the Storm was a giant anti-magic/wild magic zone where magic was nearly impossible to make use of for mundane uses. If not, then perhaps only the high-ranking clergy members are allowed to use magic. Or magic is only to take place during the super-sacred temple rituals. Also, if the trees are what the Exiles trade for food, then tree farming would probably take up a rather large sector of Exile economy. Perhaps the only people allowed to use magic are not the clergy, but the tree farmers. Or maybe the clergy are the tree farmers.

Well, the Storm is an anti-wild magic zone. But the area under the Storm isn't. Magic itself is fairly common - magic is how they survive. Most people would be multi-classed commoners/sorcerors, possibly adepts. Only a level or two, however; only the elite are allowed to truly develop their abilities (otherwise, the population becomes very difficult to control.). So, perhaps only clergymen, nobles, and military are allowed to, say, learn how to become a wizard, or are given the time to become high-level sorcerors.

This will do nicely. Ideally, you'd want an enemy that can hide among "normal people", or even appear as them (doppelgangers would do nicely) - this way, the religious police can justify it if they take away people from their homes in the middle of the night...

...
The enemy I was thinking of was rather like the dissenters you mention above. Again, back to Leiber's "Gather, Darkness!", what I had in mind was a giant conspiracy of "heretics" which may or may not be real, or may or may not be as extensive as the clergy makes it out to be. Perhaps the Exiles feel they are under constant attack from Communist Sympathizers, or Witches, or Minions of Satan - there don't actually need to be Communist Sympathizers, or Witches, or Minions of Satan. What there should be, though, is a spectacular trial and execution of a supposed CS/W/MoS on a regular basis. It keeps the dissenting population down (assuming the executions don't get out of hand), keeps non-dissenters afraid, and provides sense of togetherness and relief for the general population when they see a CS/W/MoS executed for the good of the whole.

Well, there are quite a few "real" enemies already, without the need to make up fictitious ones; for one, there are the "tainted" bloodlines discussed earlier - doppelgangers could well be one of them -, former Exiles who, perhaps due to the influence from the storm, perhaps from having too-small a genetic pool, mutated into something different. Things like yuan-ti, doppelgangers, illithid - basically, magical, monstrous humanoids. Then there would be the few surviving aquatic creatures, migrating from vestigal sea to sea - kuo-toa and the lot. Lastly, I'm thinking of perhaps having the demiplane vulnerable to tearing - thus, various planar forces could have toeholds in the area - demons, devils, yugoloths, slaadi, formians, those sorts of things. I'm not sure about this last one, though. I think it might be introducing too much moral certainty - it's clearly a Good Idea to clear out demons from your lands. It would also, I think, invite too much unity - when faced with hordes of demons, it's hard to justify the kind of atmosphere I want to create. I envision something where they do have to work together to survive, but only barely - there are always plenty of people willing to betray someone else if they think they'll get better off. Calm on the surface, seething underneath.

 

[Hunter]

Very good points Jurgen, Cyrik and Mehina!
Enjoying this thread immensely!
Somehow the Exiles must be confined. Something must work!
It has got to!

~Hunter

 

[The Goblin King]

I had a long, thought out, correctly spelled post but then my browser crashed! I will try to sum up.

I don't see a need to make the prison a demiplane too. The oceans are HUGE and if drained that would be more then enough land. I hope this is an inland sea by the way or else it will drain the rest of the planet.

The local equivilent of the Marianas Trench could be the last stronghold of the aquatic races!

What if the there were interplanar rips but they only occured at the edges of the storm? Anyone trying to climb the continental shelf would be assulted by demons and such! Lets say that that extraplanar creatures can't esablish a toehold here because this godless world is harmful to them. Without a spell keeping them here they will die.

In order to minimize contact it might be best if the trading ships came to the lowlands all at once. A fleet of cargo ships and warships would decend on the richest city-state to trade rare spices, furs, and wood for utilitarian magic items. Stowing away on board an airship would be simple. Shapeshifting, teleportation, even plain old invisibility would work. Its passing through the Storm that is the trick. In addition to making spells go wonky and stop working it also incapacitates magic users. By this time the highlanders pet sorcerers are doped into unconsiousness anyway so they don't mind. But the crew searches the ship from stem to stern for lowlanders. Anyone they find gets thrown overboard. It would be difficult but not impossible to escape. Unless of course, someone wanted them to escape.

I think that the sight of highlander airships returning to port would be spectacular. They would seem to sail on a sea of roiling stormclouds. Kinda like the opening to Final Fantasy 9.