How would you make a fantasy Ironclad "go?"

[The_Universe]

Imagine, for a moment, a fairly standard D&D world, with one exception: Gunpowder has been discovered, and is used frequently (although its use is highly regulated).

Imagine also that technology has progressed enough in certain areas to begin armoring sea vessels with iron hulls (Ironclads) - but that propulsion is still limited mostly to oar and sail. Steam power has not yet been discovered - at the very least, no one has applied it to propulsion at sea.

Sail is impractical on a true ironclad, as an exposed mast and sail make the fact that the hull is armored less useful - knock down the masts, and your armored vessel is dead on the high seas.

SO - how would you make a fantasy ironclad "go?" What propulsion system would you use? Is there a way to make sail more practical? Is there some other unique method that could work?

Tell me your ideas, and I'll tell you mine...

 

[Cassafrass]

hmmm you bring up a very good point. Ironclads are extremely too large to be rowed by man power. haha, so there goes that idea. :|

If you bring up the idea of gun powder into play, perhaps somehow it can be used, but it is regulated, so there would not be enough perhaps to use at all for something such as this.

 

[arscott]

magic.

 

[jmucchiello]

Steam? If you can float huge pieces of iron, you should be able to forge steel strong enough to create boilers. Clad paddlewheels and mechanical oarsmen might make some cool steampunk.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Maybe not entirely man-powered; perhaps rowing benches that provide a strength bonus, like a very limited version of Gauntlets of Ogre Power.

Or have harnessed dragon turtles tow the ironclads through the oceans. They're certainly pretty ironclad themselves.

 

[The_Universe]

magic.

But what kind of magic?

 

[The_Universe]

hmmm you bring up a very good point. Ironclads are extremely too large to be rowed by man power. haha, so there goes that idea. :|

It's a sticky (but interesting) problem, indeed! I am sure man/humanoids could row an ironclad if there were enough rowers, but even then such a vessel would be painfully slow. Not terribly useful in war, regardless - if the enemy can outrun you/sail around you, your ironclad ends up being a useless hunk of iron.

If you bring up the idea of gun powder into play, perhaps somehow it can be used, but it is regulated, so there would not be enough perhaps to use at all for something such as this.

Someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe black powder makes a terribly good fuel for anything but weapons - I guess if you were going to get a good blast to "launch" her off of a drydock or something it might work, but as sustained propulsion it may leave a bit to be desired...

Steam? If you can float huge pieces of iron, you should be able to forge steel strong enough to create boilers. Clad paddlewheels and mechanical oarsmen might make some cool steampunk.

Steam has not yet been discovered in any meaningful way in the gameworld - I mean, they know that when water boils it makes steam, but the leap has not been made to use it as a propulsion system. They undoubtedly *could* make boilers and paddlewheels (which is reasonably similar to how early ironclads in the real world moved) but there has yet to be the kind of necessity to make that useful - if no magical propulsion can be found, it may have to be introduced.

Still, I'd like to find a way to introduce it without having to drastically change the science/tech level of the game.

Or have harnessed dragon turtles tow the ironclads through the oceans. They're certainly pretty ironclad themselves.

Interesting idea - but it makes the animals a (relatively) easy target - but not as easy as the tow-ropes. Cut the lines, and she's dead in the water again. Further, you'd need a long development cycle to hatch/train a set of dragon turtles to tow even one of these things. Years, at least. I think we may need something that's more "standalone." Thoughts?

 

[focallength]

"Magic" and nanites for a high tech game. Its all the explenation a DM needs to give. Maybe the magic is a closely garded secret. Its how the creators make their money and why would they want everyone to know how the spells work. No one questions magic, everyone simply knows that "magic" is what makes something work and accepts it. Now if your thinking of how it would work out of sheer curiosity...Theres lots of ways to do it with "magic". If the Pc's want to spellcraft it...well its a very one of a kind specialized spell the DC is 20-30 and even then you can only determine some of the more "known" spells that were involved in the process.

 

[Crothian]

But what kind of magic?

the kind that will make it go

I'd trap some elementals into an "engine" for lack of a better term and have them move the prop fast enough for them to move.

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

Magically bound water elementals? It would mean such a vessel would be rare and very expensive, but it should work. I could see such a ship being passed down through generations, with the owners being careful to keep the ship in good condition so the bound elemental doesn't escape...