Planar Dropships?

[Toy Killer]

So, in my campaign I'm planning for, there is a devil lord called Magnys. Magnys is apathetic to the extreme, cunning, tactical and seemingly has a vendetta against free will.

Think the machines from The Matrix, however, instead of wanting freedom to procreate across the earth, they want to enslave every soul in hell. Make sense?

Towards the end of the campaign, I wanted Magnys to take a few lessons in air superiority from another devil lord and utilize something like a Chinook helicopter, only immense and dropping cannibalized mechanized golems (Fiendish Cadaver Collectors from MMIII, pg 22).

I was planning on using the Half-machine template on an Elsewhale (Planar Handbook, pg 112), and using the Symbiote template, repeatedly to allow, say, six of the cadaver collectors to 'detach' in a painful and fittingly gory way (In this case, they would be literally detatching from the side of the whale).

... I just feel this is a little too complicated. I kinda like the idea that they players may have to traverse inside of the Elsewhale, and fight a few lesser workers inside for some purpose (possibly sabotaging the ability to drop the Cadaver Collectors, or turning off the beacon from inside which Magnys uses to communicate).

I'm just fishing for ideas, thank you in advance.

[Das Platyvark]

I can't say I've got any particular advice to offer, beyond the fact that this evokes the exact sort of biotech horribleness that I absolutely love in fantasy. I don't think it's too complicated—the template stacking and such might be, but the players don't need to see that. Play it well and it could be very, very memorable.
If it's the book-keeping itself you're against, well, I don't know how to help you.

[silverwolfer]

STrongholders builders guide..


Use a floating castle, and then stat as needed to give the look you need, then use doors that work on a swing switch at the bottom of the floating castle, and give whatever drops out of it feather fall.


USe spiderwalk on the walls, and give it a dragging movment, and you can make your very own stone tanks that can climb walls

[The Gilded Duke]

If you haven't you should check out the Mindflayers of Thoon in Monster Manual V, they have a similar sort of mechanical / biological hybrid feel, and you might be able to use them for some of the lesser troops. As far as the actual dropship, there is the living astral ship in... I think Planar Handbook, that might be usable for stats.

[Coidzor]

Well, are you going to have the players fight them or are they going to feature in any combats where they're going to act as combatants? Are they primarily going to be windowdressing/places to go inside?

[GreatWyrmGold]

Random: Where's the Half-Machine template from?

Not random: One of the Planar Handbook vehicles could probably be given the appropriate modifications; the Elsewhale idea sounds good; SBG has rules for flying and plane-shifting strongholds; and you could always fiat something in.
If you're looking for the stats, I have the Planar Handbook and the SBG in various forms, and it's been too long since I've done something homebrewey.