Topic: The price of skyships and air barges....

[Hurin]

One of my favorite ShadowWorld supplements from old ICE was the one with the magical college on the hidden isle. That’s a place where magic likely would be much more commonplace. No idea if Terry considers that one canon.

I like that one too. I think it makes a good plot device, a place the PCs have to find and somehow gain entrance to in order to learn or get something important.

Journey to the Magic Isle. I liked that one too, and used it just the same way.

[Gideon]

RE: Concerns about cost:
I think the prices are reasonable.

I would point you to the RMFRP Treasure Companion, p10, "societies with banking will be wealthier than those without". Plus the rest of the first chapter talks about the type of market needed to justify magically fantastical items.

Sel-Kai is ran by Merchant families, there are multiple banks in the city. As long as the cost of maintaining the ship is less than the profit it brings in (over its expected life) it makes sense. The heightened cost of a skyship needs to justify not building 10 or more traditional ships. And its time to market and range of market that does this.

The value of an aircraft:
The advantage of flying "straight" across a continent and back at speeds of 30-50 mph (barring breaks for Essence Storms and airborn monsters) means goods from greater distances can be brought together without resale to merchants in-between. Sel-Kai is profiting and growing by circumventing the traditional distribution and resale markets.

It works even better once the merchants moved the exchange to Sel-Kai, so if you are near the northeast of Emer, you send your wares to Sel-Kai sell them to one of the merchant families for a profit, and they distribute your goods to a larger market on other continents.

I would also add, that many ships of the line were built with a 20-30 year loan in mind, not 3-5 years, but if that is considered a reasonable term for profit, then you need to get cheaper transportation.

Alchemists have this same problem. When they reach above 10th level the goods they make move out of the price range of most noble shoppers.

[Terry K. Amthor]

I always thought of Eidolon/Sel-kai as Renn-era Venice, so you’re close!

Yes I was thinking of Venice when I created Sel-kai. Skyships would of course be many times more expensive than a sailing ship, not only because of the antigravity alloy, but the mechanics of the retracting lower hull. I would say 20+ times that of a ship of the same type. But the speed and the elite passengers/cargo would soon make it up for the investment.

[Hurin]

Skyships would of course be many times more expensive than a sailing ship, not only because of the antigravity alloy, but the mechanics of the retracting lower hull.

Can anyone point me to a description of the retracting hull? I am writing an adventure involving a skyship, which I want to make as canonical as possible, and I'm not quite sure where this is described. I know about the Xenium alloy of course, but do all skyships have retracting hulls?

[Terry K. Amthor]

There has to be a way for the xenium antigrav power to be increased and decreased unless the ship is very skillfully balanced with sails. Most Eidolon ships have panels of xenium than fold/slide down over the hull when it is in water in some manner, creating lift. When the ship descends into water, the panels are pulled up in degrees to the sides of the hull using mechanisms, gears and chains and cranks powered by the crew. The extent of the lowering and raising of the panels depends on the weight of the ship, crew and cargo.

In Sel-kai, cargo skyships can often be seen leaving the docks, then sitting as their xenium overhulls are drawn down, and the ship lifts out of the water. Skysails are deployed and it makes way to its destination, be it Eidolon or another port.

[Hurin]

Awesome, thanks Terry!

[Terry K. Amthor]

Was it just me, or was the ICE site down for several days?

[Hurin]

Was it just me, or was the ICE site down for several days?

Several months.