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The first ‘airships’ were originally invented by [[Dwarf|Dwarves]] as a means of quickly moving mining debris up vertical shafts, out of the way of the miners. Though little more than small, glorified hot air balloons; the balloons of these ‘airships’ were ingeniously made from spider silk bags, and elevated with hot air, created by the burning of spare fuel. These ‘airships’ were perfect for the job they were made for, and heralded as a simple fix for an age long problem faced by the dwarves on a daily basis. These contraptions are still used today, yet far more complicated machines have arisen from their midst. It was not until the Dwarven miner [[Pickbeard]] found his foot entangled within one of the balloon cables, and was subsequently lifted to a height of over five thousand feet, that the Dwarves realized their technology might be good for something other than carrying away garbage. Further research began as Dwarven engineers came up with the idea of an airship, which would harness the power of these heat-filled balloons in order to hold up an entire vessel of men.
{{Info technology
|inventor  = [[Dwarves]]
|user      = Various
|commonuses =
*Transportation of goods
*Military engagements (rarely)
|rarity    = Rare
|proficiency    = Various
|}}
A pinnacle of modern [[Ailor]] and [[Dwarven]] innovation, Airships are the literal sky-ships of [[Ellador]] and other surrounding lands. Able to bridge great, inhospitable tracts of land and sea alike, they quickly rose to the mundane in their homeland, but only recently has technology improved enough to allow these machines to travel over the seas to new environments. This has provoked a mixed response from Ailor, primarily, who still have a budding and uneasy trust for the machines. Dwarves, however, continue to innovate to this day, with wildly varied results. This innovation has undeniably caused a diversity in transportation, leaving an unsettling feeling in the hearts of the more conservative [[Races]].  


==Early Airships==
==History==
Early airships were inefficient at most, regularly breaking down, often crashing and resulting in the deaths of those on board in horrific, fiery explosions. Despite a great deal of the ships being made, very few returned to port, and there was a concerningly high number of reports of Dwarves being carried away by their balloons, never to be seen again. A record number of deaths within the Dwarven communities meant that many abandoned the concept, and only a small group of the most ambitious Dwarves continued with their experiments. However, through a great deal of perseverance and ingenuity, the number of airship-related deaths are slowly beginning to decline each year, as they begin to grow more and more stable as a direct result of Dwarven research.
Airships began centuries ago within the Dwarven Holds as machines of industry. Simple hot air balloons, they lifted minerals and eventually, people, up and down, with the most notable of these mechanisms existing within [[Grebor]]. As time went on, further innovation produced the first true Airships, and these were sparingly used in warfare against the [[Isldar]] during the [[Isldar#Second Dragon War|Second]] and [[Third Dragon War]]s. However, the collapse of the surface Dwarven presence also saw the use of the Airship heavily curtailed, and again confined to the cavernous depths of Holds. The attack of the [[Dakkar]] and the diaspora of the Dwarven people though again saw the Airship enter into the wider world, where it had since stayed. Aldor Dwarves helped Ailor craft Airships again on the surface, and soon refined the machines. From there, the innovation spread to the [[Regalian Empire]] at large, where it was embraced by those eccentric and eager for new technology. For a time though, steam power could only aid the vessels so much, and they seemed like they would be locked into their role as a dangerous curiosity. But in late 303 AC, a significant breakthrough came. Loftoren Gas, a substance of decent stability with properties lighter than air, was discovered by the Dwarves. This gas was quickly put to use in Dwarven Airships, and within a year, Ailor Airships had adopted the gas as well. Today, steam power is still necessary to pump gas in or out of the balloon, but now the majority of an Airship’s power can be diverted to their propellers. Modern Airships are leagues faster and have better range than even those just a few years older than them, and have grown ever larger and more secure as a result.


==Airships Today==
==Procurement/Construction==
Today's Dwarven airships are some of the most advanced pieces of technology in Aloria. Piloted by their stalwart captains, these ships help with ferrying brave people and supplies to remote locations all around Aloria. These trade ships have the benefit of being less likely to be attacked by pirates -- as they are far too high in the air to be spotted nor reached with weaponry, unless in the process of docking. Faster than naval vessels and with the added benefit of being able to travel over and above land, these inventions are considered a speedy way of getting where one needs to go, though often with the added risk of a potentially fiery death. This danger often discourages any but the bravest of travellers, while also making the vessels far too treacherous for the trade of any particularly valuable goods. Despite this, airships have caught the imagination of foolhardy explorers, and have become a popular tourist attraction and novelty for those seeking cheap thrills and airborne crusades.
Airships may be legal vessels of transport, but they’re not easy to procure for even mercantile endeavors. Constructing an Airship requires copious amounts of material, from wood to a variety of metals to complexly woven fabric, and as a result are only built in a specific few locations in all of Aloria. Additionally, crews must be more technologically minded than most, as just with sailors on the sea, Airship crews must perform constant tasks to ensure that their vessel remains intact. This maintenance was once far too extensive for larger Airships to be made, but with the work of Ailor craftsmen and more, the vessels now come in a range of sizes and are slowly becoming a useful tool in anyone arsenal. Still, they cannot be flown over large cities without careful planning, and are often directed to land in certain locations suited for just that purpose.
:'''*OOC Note: Airships cannot be bought or owned by any player characters at this time.'''


==Airship Dangers==
==Airship Types==
Though becoming more efficient and less of a danger each year, airships have never been taken seriously by the Regalian military as a potential airborne force, due to the famous and horrific crash of the Dwarven combat airship known as [[ChuggaMugger]], which crashed into the sea with all of its crew after its balloon was barraged with a large hail of arrows. The light silken material that makes an airship's envelope is light enough to float, is also easily pierced and cut, and as such regular repairs are needed unless the ship itself begins a rapid descent. To date, no viable solution has been found for this problem and airships remain mostly a dangerous novelty, or simply as a means of carrying goods from one place to another. While several Dwarven combat airships remain, they have yet to be used in conflicts, and will likely remain that way for years to come until finally a solution is presented. Several airships can be found in [[Ellador]], as well as travelling from port to port over varying continents.
===Dwarven Aharad===
The science of Airship innovation began with the Dwarven Aharad. Little more than a wicker hot air balloon, it is unsuited to harsh climates or to long-distance travel, and is widely considered deprecated. However, some individuals in possession of this model of Airship still frequently utilize it for the study of wind or other natural elements, and it is also used at public venues as a fun way to get a broad view of any surrounding landscape. Its cheapness allows for easy mass production. There are few methods of propulsion on this ship, and the finicky steering makes navigation notoriously difficult, with some claiming the vessel is unsafe and should be discontinued.
===Dwarven Kazarak===
The Dwarven Kazarak is a notable improvement upon the Aharad. While still primitive and crude, it features thick textiles sewn against the fragile outer edge of the ship, permitting it to survive flights above Ellador. Moreover, it possesses an oblong balloon, and is capable of steering and changing direction. It does not have a large range, but can haul both goods and people over small distances of hazardous terrain, and has been used for such quite often for short-range missions involving important cargo or people. A small engine is still needed to fill the balloon and heat the air, but propulsion comes from sails.
===Northern Ärvinder===
The Northern Ärvinder was created as the original collaboration between Ailor and Dwarves. Featuring several improvements on the robustness of its design, it was the first Airship to be capable of longer-range flight and ascendance to higher altitudes. While still incapable of bearing weaponry or heavy weights, this archaic vessel is widely accepted as the predecessor to all modern craft, representing the pinnacle of steam-powered Airship engineering. It is unmistakable, for the thundering rumble of its mighty engines is audible from towns away, and its speed is nothing to scoff at, often exceeding the maximum capacity of later designs.
===Ithanian Sajoie===
The Ithanian Sajoie is, first and foremost, a pleasure ship. Its several rooms are organized in such a way that makes it easy to pass from lounge to lounge, and to find small cubby holes in which to engage in intimate conversation or other such things. It is not capable of carrying great weights, but can service five to ten people comfortably, as it was designed to do. Propelled by the unique compound of Loftoren Gas, it can remain in the air for quite some time before it must lower once again. It is the first Airship to historically utilize such propulsion, a point of quite some pride for the Ithanians, who have since done pitifully little with their early lead in Airship technology.
===Girobaldin Consulado===
Whereas the old Dwarven Aharad was once dreamt up to help in cataloguing the weather, the Consulado was designed to better map and survey the land. The plantations of [[Girobalda]] are heavily dependent on the lay of the territory across which they sprawl, as that determines their crop rotation. It thus became necessary to innovate an easy method to chart geography. This is the Consulado: a fast, light ship for small parties to travel quickly at a very low altitude. The Girobaldin innovators who created it based it off the same technology as the Sajoie, but far more refined and efficient.
===Treppewitz Leininger===
The Treppewitz Leininger is the result of an attempt on the part of the Ailor to industrialize and monetize the concept of Airships. It is a wide-bottomed, squat thing, ugly to behold but undoubtedly sturdy. Heaviest of all Airships, the Leininger was created to haul freight long distances where land routes are unsafe or impassable. Incredibly slow and capable of carrying either an immense number of people or an obscene weight in the range of tons, this invention has yet to be employed en masse, but shows promise for [[Wirtem]] shipping companies. It is the first vessel to utilize so-called ‘Gas-and-Sail’ technology, which is both long-range and silent, but horrifically over-engineered and difficult to maintain. It is said that a third of a Leininger’s crew must be composed of Wirtem engineers, who are forced to pool their expertise to keep the vessel’s numerous excessive parts from breaking in flight.
===Calemberg Kriegsfalke===
While the Leininger was engineered to bring the field of Airships to the commercial landscape, the Kriegsfalke was created by war-hawking Calemberger merchants. Naming the creation after others’ name for them, they proceeded to brainstorm a conceptually military Airship, one that could be used to deny airspace to other Airships, or to combat flying creatures such as the [[Wyverns]] the Isldar ride. It bears four cannons on each side, and requires forty crewmen to run. This ship follows the same Gas-and-Sail pattern as the Leininger, possessing both Loftoren Gas engineers and sails for steering, but is much more refined and well-kept. This has the side effect of making the Kriegsfalke a very expensive vessel to create, and few exist in the world.


==Airship Mechanics==
==Application==
The mechanics of airships are surprisingly relatively simple to comprehend. The hot air and steam created via the burning of fuel rises up into the air, inflating the balloon of the airship and raising it to incredibly heights while lifting unrivaled weights. Sails and rudders similar to those of normal vessels are used in order to turn - the larger the sails the greater the maneuverability - this, coupled with the steam filled balloons and a competent pilot, results in unrivaled three-dimensional travel, never before seen in Aloria. The speed and efficiency of these airships, including the ability to travel over and above land, makes them at the very least relatively functional for their current purpose. Trade ships lack most weaponry of any sort, excluding the handheld weapons of the crew, while the few combat airships remaining have a severely limited number of offensive weaponries available. Swivel guns served as short-range anti-personnel weapons on combat airships, though they held no capability of sinking ships due to their small caliber. However, they did a great deal of damage to any enemy personnel caught within their line of fire. Whereas larger cannons were essentially useless due to their lack of aim, and were generally stuck on a singular side of a ship, swivel guns could be carried across the deck to face the enemy, and were therefore far better suited for the job.
In terms of crew, one or two pilots are always necessary on Airships, as are a variety of navigators, workers, and canoneers, if the ship is armed. Crews vary in size, but rarely reach above 40, unless the ship sails, in which case the number is around 60. Airship crews are famed for their specialization, but also their necessity to multitask. It’s not often that a gunner will know how to pilot the ship on which he’s stationed, for example. The bravest crew members are also expected to be “Patchers” if the need arises. This was a roll devised by Ailor, as Dwarves had trouble climbing their balloons. For this role, a crewman must climb a balloon’s rigging, and potentially onto the balloon itself to locate a rupture and patch it with a strip of airtight fabric and a needle and thread. For this reason, most Airship crewmen are taught to sew.
Maintenance wise, Airships are fairly forgiving. With no sea to gnarl and chew at their hulls, their woodwork remains fairly untouched unless exposed to cannonfire. However, all Airships require fuel in varying amounts, as well as clean water. The more steam power a ship utilizes, the more coal it will consume. Water is consumed more as well, but to a less exponential degree. Balloon fabric may also need to be replaced as time goes on. Patching is a viable temporary solution, but a fresh balloon holds air far more reliably than one sporting a dozen battle scars. Frequently replacing these can be expensive, however, and it’s not uncommon to see Airships sporting heavily patched balloons. Airships are famed for their resilience to cold climates, which perpetuated their popularity in Ellador.
===Effects===
Flyer’s Sickness effects most who fly for the first time. Glancing down at the ground from an Airship is known to give new flyers the shakes, and an intense round of vomiting. Along with repair tools, water, coal, and other supplies, empty wooden buckets are often kept on deck, though more often than not a sailor will simply wretch over the side of the ship, to the utter dismay of those below glancing up at the flying vessels.  


----
==Trivia==
====Accreditation====
*Crew members who frequently work on steam-powered craft are famed in [[Ellador]] for their powerful voices. Due to the noise these craft generate, the crewmembers are often forced to yell to communicate, which helps develop a powerful set of lungs.
----
{{Technology}}
*Written by [[User:DrFong|DrFong]] and [[User:Feykronos|Feykronos]].
{{Accreditation
*Processed by [[User:Ryciera|Ryciera]].
|Writers = LumosJared, HydraLana, OkaDoka
[[category:technology]] [[category:textbooks]] [[category:Transportation]]
|Processors = HydraLana, FireFan96
}}
[[category:Technology]]

Revision as of 18:45, 20 December 2021

Airship
Noimg.png
Technology
Invented by Dwarves
Used by Various
Common uses
  • Transportation of goods
  • Military engagements (rarely)
Rarity Rare
Proficiency Various

A pinnacle of modern Ailor and Dwarven innovation, Airships are the literal sky-ships of Ellador and other surrounding lands. Able to bridge great, inhospitable tracts of land and sea alike, they quickly rose to the mundane in their homeland, but only recently has technology improved enough to allow these machines to travel over the seas to new environments. This has provoked a mixed response from Ailor, primarily, who still have a budding and uneasy trust for the machines. Dwarves, however, continue to innovate to this day, with wildly varied results. This innovation has undeniably caused a diversity in transportation, leaving an unsettling feeling in the hearts of the more conservative Races.

History

Airships began centuries ago within the Dwarven Holds as machines of industry. Simple hot air balloons, they lifted minerals and eventually, people, up and down, with the most notable of these mechanisms existing within Grebor. As time went on, further innovation produced the first true Airships, and these were sparingly used in warfare against the Isldar during the Second and Third Dragon Wars. However, the collapse of the surface Dwarven presence also saw the use of the Airship heavily curtailed, and again confined to the cavernous depths of Holds. The attack of the Dakkar and the diaspora of the Dwarven people though again saw the Airship enter into the wider world, where it had since stayed. Aldor Dwarves helped Ailor craft Airships again on the surface, and soon refined the machines. From there, the innovation spread to the Regalian Empire at large, where it was embraced by those eccentric and eager for new technology. For a time though, steam power could only aid the vessels so much, and they seemed like they would be locked into their role as a dangerous curiosity. But in late 303 AC, a significant breakthrough came. Loftoren Gas, a substance of decent stability with properties lighter than air, was discovered by the Dwarves. This gas was quickly put to use in Dwarven Airships, and within a year, Ailor Airships had adopted the gas as well. Today, steam power is still necessary to pump gas in or out of the balloon, but now the majority of an Airship’s power can be diverted to their propellers. Modern Airships are leagues faster and have better range than even those just a few years older than them, and have grown ever larger and more secure as a result.

Procurement/Construction

Airships may be legal vessels of transport, but they’re not easy to procure for even mercantile endeavors. Constructing an Airship requires copious amounts of material, from wood to a variety of metals to complexly woven fabric, and as a result are only built in a specific few locations in all of Aloria. Additionally, crews must be more technologically minded than most, as just with sailors on the sea, Airship crews must perform constant tasks to ensure that their vessel remains intact. This maintenance was once far too extensive for larger Airships to be made, but with the work of Ailor craftsmen and more, the vessels now come in a range of sizes and are slowly becoming a useful tool in anyone arsenal. Still, they cannot be flown over large cities without careful planning, and are often directed to land in certain locations suited for just that purpose.

*OOC Note: Airships cannot be bought or owned by any player characters at this time.

Airship Types

Dwarven Aharad

The science of Airship innovation began with the Dwarven Aharad. Little more than a wicker hot air balloon, it is unsuited to harsh climates or to long-distance travel, and is widely considered deprecated. However, some individuals in possession of this model of Airship still frequently utilize it for the study of wind or other natural elements, and it is also used at public venues as a fun way to get a broad view of any surrounding landscape. Its cheapness allows for easy mass production. There are few methods of propulsion on this ship, and the finicky steering makes navigation notoriously difficult, with some claiming the vessel is unsafe and should be discontinued.

Dwarven Kazarak

The Dwarven Kazarak is a notable improvement upon the Aharad. While still primitive and crude, it features thick textiles sewn against the fragile outer edge of the ship, permitting it to survive flights above Ellador. Moreover, it possesses an oblong balloon, and is capable of steering and changing direction. It does not have a large range, but can haul both goods and people over small distances of hazardous terrain, and has been used for such quite often for short-range missions involving important cargo or people. A small engine is still needed to fill the balloon and heat the air, but propulsion comes from sails.

Northern Ärvinder

The Northern Ärvinder was created as the original collaboration between Ailor and Dwarves. Featuring several improvements on the robustness of its design, it was the first Airship to be capable of longer-range flight and ascendance to higher altitudes. While still incapable of bearing weaponry or heavy weights, this archaic vessel is widely accepted as the predecessor to all modern craft, representing the pinnacle of steam-powered Airship engineering. It is unmistakable, for the thundering rumble of its mighty engines is audible from towns away, and its speed is nothing to scoff at, often exceeding the maximum capacity of later designs.

Ithanian Sajoie

The Ithanian Sajoie is, first and foremost, a pleasure ship. Its several rooms are organized in such a way that makes it easy to pass from lounge to lounge, and to find small cubby holes in which to engage in intimate conversation or other such things. It is not capable of carrying great weights, but can service five to ten people comfortably, as it was designed to do. Propelled by the unique compound of Loftoren Gas, it can remain in the air for quite some time before it must lower once again. It is the first Airship to historically utilize such propulsion, a point of quite some pride for the Ithanians, who have since done pitifully little with their early lead in Airship technology.

Girobaldin Consulado

Whereas the old Dwarven Aharad was once dreamt up to help in cataloguing the weather, the Consulado was designed to better map and survey the land. The plantations of Girobalda are heavily dependent on the lay of the territory across which they sprawl, as that determines their crop rotation. It thus became necessary to innovate an easy method to chart geography. This is the Consulado: a fast, light ship for small parties to travel quickly at a very low altitude. The Girobaldin innovators who created it based it off the same technology as the Sajoie, but far more refined and efficient.

Treppewitz Leininger

The Treppewitz Leininger is the result of an attempt on the part of the Ailor to industrialize and monetize the concept of Airships. It is a wide-bottomed, squat thing, ugly to behold but undoubtedly sturdy. Heaviest of all Airships, the Leininger was created to haul freight long distances where land routes are unsafe or impassable. Incredibly slow and capable of carrying either an immense number of people or an obscene weight in the range of tons, this invention has yet to be employed en masse, but shows promise for Wirtem shipping companies. It is the first vessel to utilize so-called ‘Gas-and-Sail’ technology, which is both long-range and silent, but horrifically over-engineered and difficult to maintain. It is said that a third of a Leininger’s crew must be composed of Wirtem engineers, who are forced to pool their expertise to keep the vessel’s numerous excessive parts from breaking in flight.

Calemberg Kriegsfalke

While the Leininger was engineered to bring the field of Airships to the commercial landscape, the Kriegsfalke was created by war-hawking Calemberger merchants. Naming the creation after others’ name for them, they proceeded to brainstorm a conceptually military Airship, one that could be used to deny airspace to other Airships, or to combat flying creatures such as the Wyverns the Isldar ride. It bears four cannons on each side, and requires forty crewmen to run. This ship follows the same Gas-and-Sail pattern as the Leininger, possessing both Loftoren Gas engineers and sails for steering, but is much more refined and well-kept. This has the side effect of making the Kriegsfalke a very expensive vessel to create, and few exist in the world.

Application

In terms of crew, one or two pilots are always necessary on Airships, as are a variety of navigators, workers, and canoneers, if the ship is armed. Crews vary in size, but rarely reach above 40, unless the ship sails, in which case the number is around 60. Airship crews are famed for their specialization, but also their necessity to multitask. It’s not often that a gunner will know how to pilot the ship on which he’s stationed, for example. The bravest crew members are also expected to be “Patchers” if the need arises. This was a roll devised by Ailor, as Dwarves had trouble climbing their balloons. For this role, a crewman must climb a balloon’s rigging, and potentially onto the balloon itself to locate a rupture and patch it with a strip of airtight fabric and a needle and thread. For this reason, most Airship crewmen are taught to sew. Maintenance wise, Airships are fairly forgiving. With no sea to gnarl and chew at their hulls, their woodwork remains fairly untouched unless exposed to cannonfire. However, all Airships require fuel in varying amounts, as well as clean water. The more steam power a ship utilizes, the more coal it will consume. Water is consumed more as well, but to a less exponential degree. Balloon fabric may also need to be replaced as time goes on. Patching is a viable temporary solution, but a fresh balloon holds air far more reliably than one sporting a dozen battle scars. Frequently replacing these can be expensive, however, and it’s not uncommon to see Airships sporting heavily patched balloons. Airships are famed for their resilience to cold climates, which perpetuated their popularity in Ellador.

Effects

Flyer’s Sickness effects most who fly for the first time. Glancing down at the ground from an Airship is known to give new flyers the shakes, and an intense round of vomiting. Along with repair tools, water, coal, and other supplies, empty wooden buckets are often kept on deck, though more often than not a sailor will simply wretch over the side of the ship, to the utter dismay of those below glancing up at the flying vessels.

Trivia

  • Crew members who frequently work on steam-powered craft are famed in Ellador for their powerful voices. Due to the noise these craft generate, the crewmembers are often forced to yell to communicate, which helps develop a powerful set of lungs.

Template:Technology


Accreditation
Writers LumosJared, HydraLana, OkaDoka
Processors HydraLana, FireFan96
Last Editor HydraLana on 12/20/2021.

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