ffone
2011-04-06, 07:56 PM
Two main questions:
- Any nice references for airships, floating castles, etc? A&EG had a little (Cloud Keel ship) and SBG has a bit of stuff too (Flying enhancement for a stronghold with a price proportionate to size, an example Floating Tower.)
This is for a floating 'dungeon', primarily NPC-run rather than a PC purchase, but I'm trying to figure out good stats to address questions like "if the PCs manage to play their cards right and wrest control of and figure out how to pilot it, how much could they sell it for?" and "what would it take for PCs to 'deactivate' its flight and try to make it crash?"
- Suppose a flying structure suddenly isn't (flight is suppressed by a Dead Magic Zone, or PCs sabotaging it appropriately). How does its crash work? Does it take regular falling damage, or are there special rules for big objects / structures? How much damage collapses a structure or airship?
And, what happens to any characters inside it when it crashes? I'd presume they'd take 'regular' falling damage as if they fell from that height at least (if I remember my physics, you'd be in free fall with it, then when it hits the ground YOU hit the floor of it at the same velocity, so it's like you just fell).
But also, if the structure collapses as a result (which as above I'm wondering how to adjudicate), I'm wondering what to do with those inside.
One theory is the 8d6 collapsing damage found in the 'cave in' at http://www.d20srd.org/srd/dungeons.htm (8d6 dmg, reflex 1/2).
Another theory is to use the 'falling objects' damage from http://www.d20srd.org/srd/environment.htm , estimate how much weight could collapse a character inside, and deal damage based on that (which from the SRD appears to be 1d6 per 200 lbs + 1d6 per 10' fallen up to 20d6).
Obviously these two damage numbers will be very different for a large floating castle more than 200' in the sky, and I fully expect players to argue for one or the other - depending, of course, on whether the PCs were trapped inside or they are safe and hoping to kill NPCS by making it fall. So I'd like to be prepared to justify whatever I say!
My instinct says the 'falling objects' thing shouldn't apply, b/c the ceiling of a collapsing-from-landing castle probably won't hit you at terminal velocity: the castle would land, STOP moving for a split-instat, and it's this sudden change in velocity (the absorption of the force) that causes the damage that causes the collapse. But I'd like everyone else's own unbiased thoughts!)
Another odd reference is the Earthquake spell, which says it deals 100 dmg to a structure, and gives qualitative examples of what types of buildings would collapse and which wouldn't. This is not a rule per se, just one particular spell, but it's an interesting anecdote in that 1. it suggests the structure can 'take damage' rather than being a union of separate 'objects' (for each cube of wall etc.) 2. if the structure takes falling damage like one object, and it's 20d6 which averages 70, this suggests Earthquake may be a reference as an 'upper bound' for what collapses.
- Any nice references for airships, floating castles, etc? A&EG had a little (Cloud Keel ship) and SBG has a bit of stuff too (Flying enhancement for a stronghold with a price proportionate to size, an example Floating Tower.)
This is for a floating 'dungeon', primarily NPC-run rather than a PC purchase, but I'm trying to figure out good stats to address questions like "if the PCs manage to play their cards right and wrest control of and figure out how to pilot it, how much could they sell it for?" and "what would it take for PCs to 'deactivate' its flight and try to make it crash?"
- Suppose a flying structure suddenly isn't (flight is suppressed by a Dead Magic Zone, or PCs sabotaging it appropriately). How does its crash work? Does it take regular falling damage, or are there special rules for big objects / structures? How much damage collapses a structure or airship?
And, what happens to any characters inside it when it crashes? I'd presume they'd take 'regular' falling damage as if they fell from that height at least (if I remember my physics, you'd be in free fall with it, then when it hits the ground YOU hit the floor of it at the same velocity, so it's like you just fell).
But also, if the structure collapses as a result (which as above I'm wondering how to adjudicate), I'm wondering what to do with those inside.
One theory is the 8d6 collapsing damage found in the 'cave in' at http://www.d20srd.org/srd/dungeons.htm (8d6 dmg, reflex 1/2).
Another theory is to use the 'falling objects' damage from http://www.d20srd.org/srd/environment.htm , estimate how much weight could collapse a character inside, and deal damage based on that (which from the SRD appears to be 1d6 per 200 lbs + 1d6 per 10' fallen up to 20d6).
Obviously these two damage numbers will be very different for a large floating castle more than 200' in the sky, and I fully expect players to argue for one or the other - depending, of course, on whether the PCs were trapped inside or they are safe and hoping to kill NPCS by making it fall. So I'd like to be prepared to justify whatever I say!
My instinct says the 'falling objects' thing shouldn't apply, b/c the ceiling of a collapsing-from-landing castle probably won't hit you at terminal velocity: the castle would land, STOP moving for a split-instat, and it's this sudden change in velocity (the absorption of the force) that causes the damage that causes the collapse. But I'd like everyone else's own unbiased thoughts!)
Another odd reference is the Earthquake spell, which says it deals 100 dmg to a structure, and gives qualitative examples of what types of buildings would collapse and which wouldn't. This is not a rule per se, just one particular spell, but it's an interesting anecdote in that 1. it suggests the structure can 'take damage' rather than being a union of separate 'objects' (for each cube of wall etc.) 2. if the structure takes falling damage like one object, and it's 20d6 which averages 70, this suggests Earthquake may be a reference as an 'upper bound' for what collapses.