Military Airships


Incredible wonders of magical ingenuity and clever engineering, warship fleets are capable of wreaking destruction on a scale unparalleled, reducing even the most fortified of targets to rubble in an extended assault. Typically much better armored than the blimps of civilian airships, warships utilize different methods to stay afloat.

Gas chambers:

Similar to the blimps of the civilian airships, these gas chambers are different in a couple of key aspects. First, they are much smaller, filled with a much more efficient gas, and are usually located within the airship itself, rather than exposed. These gas chambers are not usually used as a primary flotation device, but rather as a form of support. However, when a warship’s hull IS breached, these have a tendency to cause a chain explosion, leading to the magnificent fireballs that usually accompany a warship’s destruction.

Enchanted construction materials:

Warships are miracles of magic, and there is usually no expense spared in their construction. Though the enchantment can be a costly one, a warship may be subject to a field of magic that makes it, and all those aboard, while not light enough to float, light enough to help the process along. Unfortunately for the civilian population that such warships usually crash upon, this enchantment almost always fails by the time a crashing warship strikes the ground.

Propellers:

A simple flotation strategy, combined with the other two methods that can help the warship achieve lift. Dozens of blades may be required, perhaps even hundreds on some of the larger ships. These rotating blades can also be used as a propulsion system.

Crystal Engines:

The latest magical advancement made by the Cosmologist organization, the first airship tested with a crystal engine flew in 238 AR. The basic principle behind this type of flotation (which can also act as a propulsion system) is that enough psychic energy can be stored in one crystal (usually very large, at least a few cubic feet) to lift even the largest of airships off the ground-for a limited amount of time. The various empires of the world, not exactly being moral champions, have found various ways around this, usually putting prisoners in an advanced state of stupor and draining psychic energy from them into the crystal. The prisoners usually die after enough of this, but no kingdom is really short on prisoners as a natural resource as of yet. With these new engines, airships can be kept aloft with relative ease nigh-indefinitely.

Weapons: The weapons of a warship may range from a simple garrison of bowmen to magic that can tear apart a city.

Crenellated hulls:

Just as castles and fortresses may have slots built into their walls so that archers may fire through, so may warships. These simple holes serve fairly well as an anti-infantry device for when warships cruise low, and are usually far too small to be fired back into. They’re practically useless against an armored target, however. Larger holes may be installed that may allow magi to cast their deadly spells, however, these usually don’t provide nearly as much cover. As primitive gunpowder has worked its way into Fou Lu, so have warships with hulls crenellated to allow cannon fire through.

War spikes:

Though it usually takes considerable skill on the part of a crew to use war spikes to any effect (and not get them killed in the process), these can be some of the most devastating weapons against enemy airships. Basically, a long, protruding spike, about ten feet long, that is used to ram into enemy airships. Many are enchanted to drip flame from the tip, in an attempt to ignite enemy gas chambers. Many captains of warships with war spikes view them more as a last resort, rather than a primary weapon.

Magic cannons:

Based on the same principle as the crystal engines, magic cannons vary wildly in appearance from kingdom to kingdom. Regardless of what they look like, they are usually some metal object with crystal woven into them. The crystal absorbs power from fire elementals, water elementals, whichever kind of elemental the captain desires (or has prisoners of) and once it has absorbed enough magic, shoots an extremely destructive beam of magic that can shatter wood and stone and punch holes in iron and steel. The beam can be dragged, causing even further destruction.