Airships are the only method of travel between Solace and the sky islands, therefore they are integral to trade and transportation. They are powered using Aerolite Fuel, and the lift comes from a helium filled envelope.
Overview[]
Airships are treated as a character - they are assigned their own character sheet to keep track of stats. Unlike characters, airship stats do not follow the
Instead of Mental and Physical stress, airships have Hull and Armour stress. This works slightly differently to Mental and Physical stress however. The Hull can only be damaged once the Armour stress track is full.
Fire is represented by Fire Count, a stat which starts at 0 (no fire). A number higher than 0 represents that the vessel is on fire. If the vessel is on fire, the Fire Count will rise by 1 at the end of every round. Should the Fire Count exceed the combined total of maximum hull stress and maximum armour stress, the magazine will explode.
Combat Rules[]
The number of actions available to the airship in a round depends on where the players allocate themselves.
Each airship has sufficient crew members to run the ship, but the players will need to direct a specific area of the ship each round. Crew members may be directed to man ship components. The skill level of the crew depends entirely on the quality of the crew recruited. Crew are given only one action per round.
Multiple PCs can be allocated to Light Weaponry, allowing for multiple attacks in one turn. Heavy Weaponry attacks can only be made once per turn however.
Players will need to use their own Craft skill to repair broken ship components. Players can also use Notice to get a better view of the situation.
Players can also use their Shoot skill when operating guns. When doing so, they roll at the same time as the airship. If their roll is higher, they may use that instead. The skill modifier is capped by the airship's skill. A PC with Shoot 4 for instance using Light Weaponry 3 will only receive a +3 to their roll.
Remember that PCs can work together to achieve goals.
Example: PCs A and B allocate themselves and the Crew to Light Weaponry, granting 3 attacks that round. PC C takes the helm, rolling for Create Advantage with Piloting. PC D allocates himself to Manoeuvrability, and decides to get rid of any unnecessary cargo, granting the airship the Aspect "Lighter Load". PC E decides to repair the ship's armour, rolling for Overcome with Craft.
Airship Skills[]
|
Skill |
Overcome | |
Create Advantage | |
Attack | |
Defend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Light Weaponry |
X |
X |
X |
|
|
Heavy Weaponry |
X |
X |
X |
|
|
Boarding |
X |
X |
X |
|
|
Engines |
X |
X |
||
|
Envelope |
X |
X |
X | |
|
Manoeuvrability |
X |
X |
||
|
Measuring Systems |
X |
X |
||
|
Communication Systems |
X |
X |
X | |
|
Armour |
X | |||
|
Hull |
X |
- Light Weaponry – Light guns have a short to medium range. They are small and cheap, but lack armour penetration. Light weaponry can be used as many times per round as possible.
- Heavy Weaponry – Heavy guns have a much longer range than light guns, and are often more effective against Armour. Heavy weaponry can only be used once per round though.
- Boarding – The capability to board a vessel. The higher the skill, the easier it is to send in a boarding party.
- Engines – The maximum speed and acceleration of the airship. This comes into play when pursuing or escaping from another airship.
- Envelope – The vertical mobility of the airship. This skill is used when changing altitude at a rapid rate. The higher the skill, the more rapid the airship can ascend/descend.
- Manoeuvrability – The relative agility of the airship. This dictates how easily you can reposition.
- Measuring Systems – Tools to determine information from the surroundings. Includes compasses, barometers, thermometers etc. The higher this skill, the greater the accuracy and depth of information.
- Communication Systems – The ship’s radio. A higher score indicates increased range of transmission and increased accuracy when intercepting enemy transmissions.
- Armour – The quality of the ship’s armour. This is used when defending against an attack, assuming you still have Armour stress boxes free.
- Hull – The quality of the ship’s hull. This is used when defending against an attack without any armour to absorb the damage.
Airship Equipment[]
Unique features and armaments are shown via stunts, the amount of which depend on the type of airship. Each airship gets a single free stunt, and can pay refresh to receive more. Stunts can only be used once per round.
You are free to design any weapon or modification for the airship, however there are a few rules:
- Any weapon with greater effectiveness against armour must classify as Heavy Weaponry.