Flying Islands and Water Worlds
- Thread starter Chrysoula
- Start date
Tratyn Runewind
First Post
Hello!
Like so many other fantasy themes, the flying island/castle/city thing was played with a bit in the old BD&D world of Mystara. There, these items tended to be concentrated in Alphatia, a highly magical empire with a historical specialty in air magics.
The kingdom of Floating Ar consisted of flying islands drifting over a section of the Alphatian continent. BD&D allowed for ascension to immortality (BD&D godhood) as a goal for high-level characters, and a king of Floating Ar enchanted the islands to "transform his land" as part of one pathway to immortality. It saved many of his people, too - when the Alphatian continent was sunk during the massive conflict of empires known as the "Wrath of the Immortals", the islands remained, floating above the sea.
The Imperial house of Alphatia also had access to at least one flying castle, which got used in the module M2, Vengeance of Alphaks.
And the flying city of Serraine was introduced in the second "Creature Crucible" supplement, PC2, Top Ballista. A gathering spot of sorts for flying races, the city itself flies through the use of ancient Blackmoor-era artifacts, maintained by the gnomes who mostly run the city.
The area of Mystara known as the "Hollow World" also has flying islands and even small continents, orbiting slowly between the eternal red inner sun and the world's surface, giving the lands they pass over some shade from the endless day.
As to appeal, flying cities have all the comforts of civilization, plus aerial mobility. What's not to like?
Flying castles are like the ultimate mobile home; with enough fortification, they come to resemble the capital starships of a space-opera campaign, city-destroyers capable of bombarding with boulders, fire-pots, and spells, and assaulting with feather falling airborne units. The flying castle in module M2 was used in just such a role. The prospect of owning such a toy, or even commanding it for the duration of a battle, should warm the heart of all our inner munchkins... 
Hope this helps!
Like so many other fantasy themes, the flying island/castle/city thing was played with a bit in the old BD&D world of Mystara. There, these items tended to be concentrated in Alphatia, a highly magical empire with a historical specialty in air magics.
The kingdom of Floating Ar consisted of flying islands drifting over a section of the Alphatian continent. BD&D allowed for ascension to immortality (BD&D godhood) as a goal for high-level characters, and a king of Floating Ar enchanted the islands to "transform his land" as part of one pathway to immortality. It saved many of his people, too - when the Alphatian continent was sunk during the massive conflict of empires known as the "Wrath of the Immortals", the islands remained, floating above the sea.
The Imperial house of Alphatia also had access to at least one flying castle, which got used in the module M2, Vengeance of Alphaks.
And the flying city of Serraine was introduced in the second "Creature Crucible" supplement, PC2, Top Ballista. A gathering spot of sorts for flying races, the city itself flies through the use of ancient Blackmoor-era artifacts, maintained by the gnomes who mostly run the city.
The area of Mystara known as the "Hollow World" also has flying islands and even small continents, orbiting slowly between the eternal red inner sun and the world's surface, giving the lands they pass over some shade from the endless day.
As to appeal, flying cities have all the comforts of civilization, plus aerial mobility. What's not to like?
Flying castles are like the ultimate mobile home; with enough fortification, they come to resemble the capital starships of a space-opera campaign, city-destroyers capable of bombarding with boulders, fire-pots, and spells, and assaulting with feather falling airborne units. The flying castle in module M2 was used in just such a role. The prospect of owning such a toy, or even commanding it for the duration of a battle, should warm the heart of all our inner munchkins... Hope this helps!
UniversalMonster
Explorer
I love flying islands...
In fact, there's one in my campaign right now: http://the-never.net/regionalmap3.html
This is the home of a cloud giant ruler. His Air Genasi forces (the Skylancers of Hylor) ride hippogriffs.
Accessible by airship, located just on the dark side of the campaign moon, Cinder.
In fact, there's one in my campaign right now: http://the-never.net/regionalmap3.html
This is the home of a cloud giant ruler. His Air Genasi forces (the Skylancers of Hylor) ride hippogriffs.
Accessible by airship, located just on the dark side of the campaign moon, Cinder.
Vrylakos
First Post
Flying Islands
I like flying islands.
I've never read the Deathgate books, as I've never liked Weis and Hickman.
I own the Shattered Land (if that's the right title), but the writing was terrible, so I never got more than 5 pages into it...
But I did make a campaign setting with nothing but flying islands, and did my best to make sense of things.
It's in my sig. I need to update it...
VRYLAKOS
I like flying islands.
I've never read the Deathgate books, as I've never liked Weis and Hickman.
I own the Shattered Land (if that's the right title), but the writing was terrible, so I never got more than 5 pages into it...
But I did make a campaign setting with nothing but flying islands, and did my best to make sense of things.
It's in my sig. I need to update it...
VRYLAKOS
Furn_Darkside
First Post
Chrysoula said:
I like environmentally challenged campeigns.
My last was a world slipping quickly, geographically speaking, into an ice age.
My current is.. a water world (flooded by marid).
Settings that stir emotion within me are easier for me to write about.
Considering I have almost drowned a couple of times and have a great distaste for large bodies of water- I am fascinated by the idea of a flooded world.
My only distaste is the swimming/drowing rules in d&d are too severe when compared to the way combat/falling/and poison damage are handled.
As for flying islands... eh.. *shrug* no interest at all.
FD
I'm A Banana
Potassium-Rich
Flying islands are intriguing because not only do they have the benefits of regular islands, but they...
A) are inherently fantastic and exotic. Earth doesn't fly! WOW!
B) can emply three dimensions as opposed to two...
and
C) There's the ease of going from on the islands to whatever is *beneath* them....
Regular islands, as far as I can see, have one big bonus point...they can use all those aquatic races and creatures that, for some reason, always suffuse a Monster Manual but most DM's can't put in because they can't exist comfortably on land. Unfortunately, it's not as easy to find out what lies below them without some serious enchantment.
Myself?
Well, in the intrest of variety, they contain both, but I didn't even mention them.
But what's interesting about my world isn't the geography...it's the motivation of the heroes and the villains and the tension between opposites that suffuses it. It's the division and the reasons and motivations for it, and what keeps it devided.
But, heck, I'd be intrigued by a flying island or regular island setting.
About the postapocalyptic/ruled by evil settings...well, they go against the grain, too. Greyhawk, FR, DL....all of these have heroes already important and ruling. The other settings are ripe for the revolution inspired by the PC's.
That's why I'm so interested in destroying the Forgotten Realms in my next campaign...things are more interesting when there *aren't* any powerful heroes to save your world's ass if the PC's fail.
A) are inherently fantastic and exotic. Earth doesn't fly! WOW!
B) can emply three dimensions as opposed to two...
and
C) There's the ease of going from on the islands to whatever is *beneath* them....
Regular islands, as far as I can see, have one big bonus point...they can use all those aquatic races and creatures that, for some reason, always suffuse a Monster Manual but most DM's can't put in because they can't exist comfortably on land. Unfortunately, it's not as easy to find out what lies below them without some serious enchantment.
Myself?
Well, in the intrest of variety, they contain both, but I didn't even mention them.
But what's interesting about my world isn't the geography...it's the motivation of the heroes and the villains and the tension between opposites that suffuses it. It's the division and the reasons and motivations for it, and what keeps it devided.
But, heck, I'd be intrigued by a flying island or regular island setting.
About the postapocalyptic/ruled by evil settings...well, they go against the grain, too. Greyhawk, FR, DL....all of these have heroes already important and ruling. The other settings are ripe for the revolution inspired by the PC's.
That's why I'm so interested in destroying the Forgotten Realms in my next campaign...things are more interesting when there *aren't* any powerful heroes to save your world's ass if the PC's fail.
Wha?
You can by into magic and dragons, but not flying cities et al, those are just too out there? It would seem once one has bought into magic, there isn't a lot of disbelief left to suspend.
You know what I didn't buy into? The spokesman for Colt 45 running cloud city, but then DC re-elected Marrion Barry.
Buttercup said:
You can by into magic and dragons, but not flying cities et al, those are just too out there? It would seem once one has bought into magic, there isn't a lot of disbelief left to suspend.
You know what I didn't buy into? The spokesman for Colt 45 running cloud city, but then DC re-elected Marrion Barry.
VoodooGroves
First Post
Anyone ever read the later Moorcock / Elric novel with the giant land ship?
Before anyone gags, this was not a flying land ship. Instead, it was a huge monstrosity, a rolling construct similar to a barge and holding a fairly large sized city on its back. When two of these things collide, it makes Dredd's block-wars seem like child's play.
Another interesting twist is his Ice Schooner book. Not a waterworld, but a world in an iceage. Main hero starts off running about on a boat (sail powered and all) that is bascially a normal boat hull with a few runners coming off the bottom. Very useful for glacial travel...
Before anyone gags, this was not a flying land ship. Instead, it was a huge monstrosity, a rolling construct similar to a barge and holding a fairly large sized city on its back. When two of these things collide, it makes Dredd's block-wars seem like child's play.
Another interesting twist is his Ice Schooner book. Not a waterworld, but a world in an iceage. Main hero starts off running about on a boat (sail powered and all) that is bascially a normal boat hull with a few runners coming off the bottom. Very useful for glacial travel...
lord irial
First Post
I think that's called "rain."Zappo said:
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