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unseenmage
2020-12-08, 04:41 PM
Need some help searching all of 3.x, PF, and 3rd party for an airship a 6th level character could afford.


We're starting at level 6 and my character is a template stacked incarnate construct artificer//archivist/runecaster.

Normal WBL and WBL mancy won't kick in until after the game has started. SO like if I have a Spell Clock of True Creation that makes gold it won't start running until after the game has begun.

Game is 3.P with emphasis on the PF. Gestalt, mythic, PF tech enabled.
Cheese is enabled with GM permission, 3rd party too.
Monster characters is okay, Constructs are priced by CR. Dragon and Dungeon are allowed. Spheres is allowed but we recently used it to death so we might avoid it on principle.

We've banned epic, magic resetting traps, wish, miracle, gate, binding, simulacrum, genesis, and all their derivatives. They still exist in the game world, we as players just won't use them. Makes things entirely too easy.

Faerun with Spelljammer esque vibes. This character's creator had 'otherworldly inspiration' meaning he could make things literally from other campaign settings and could cheese the rules some. He eventually spoke to his deity and even that guy had no clue how the character was accessing clearly other worldly ideas.
This character is that character's son. A template stacked incarnate construct effigy of his creator/father.

Oh and this character is NG so unlike my normal modus operandi of TN he won't be doing any borderline evil experiments on sentient Construct minions and animal test subjects.


All of that said, my character is supposed to start as an airship captain and I want him to be a vehicles focused artificer who builds himself a crew of 3rd party warforged analogues.

The sticking point is the airship. The damn things are expensive. Especially if you want more than a balloon with a wicker basket under it.

At first I was looking for Construct ships; Aethera 3PP for PF has some, they're good but tech and access requires its own feat.

Then we stumbled on the pricing progression for the Landlord feat and if I cheated access it would actually cost us money at 6th level. Then we thought, hey why not? Just fluff it as a loan shark or overtaxation by greedy nobles.

So we'd build a Feats in Magic (Arms and Equipment Guide sidebar) Wondrous Architecture (Stronghold Builder's Guide) of the Landlord feat in the form of an airship port in a major city, then set sail in what we think is our shiny new airship bought with the funds. But we soon realize that we're flying around in a loaned ship and the interest is piling up. if we have our math correct the ship could cost up to 12,500gp if we use this method. The feat, after cost reducers, would cost me 1,218.75 gp. Not a terrible investment to give the GM a hook to tie us down with.


Now I just need an airship. I want it to hold up to 5 medium creatures and be a vehicle that flies. Preferably a ship that flies. After much digging and reading I might justs ettle for an Animated Object with a fly speed built with the Craft Construct feat so it is a true Construct and not dispellable.

Does the Playground have a better idea? I am all ears at this point.

TheCount
2020-12-08, 05:12 PM
i see you are a person of taste as well.

these 3 are the best i could find when i was looking for airships for...reasons.

they describe the pros and cons for both the 3.5 and "freecrafted" magic airships.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/14zilT4WGOyHM0AfpG4-GmD2FkgDg1HZ9HC1cTleQHds/edit

http://minmaxforum.com/index.php?topic=14914.0

https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?233352-Build-an-Airship

Khosan
2020-12-09, 12:58 AM
The Enhancement Sphere (http://spheresofpower.wikidot.com/enhancement#toc98) from Spheres of Power might be up your alley.

I think you could get a CL20 Captured Spell (a scroll) with the base Enhancement Sphere plus Animate Object, Bestow Intelligence, and Bestow Life to do the job you're looking for. If I understand the crafting mechanics correctly, that combination of talents would have a complexity of 9, meaning the cost of the scroll would be just 4,500 GP. 4,500 GP to animate a colossal object of your choice and make it intelligent and capable of flight. You'd still have to buy the colossal object itself, which will probably run you about 10,000 GP for a Longboat or something.

I feel like I misunderstood something though, because that feels too cheap for what it does.

lightningcat
2020-12-09, 01:17 AM
Years ago I made a bunch of airships for my campaign setting, most of which were based on the spelljammer ships, because those are awesome designs. I used the GoO mecha rules. I might work for you.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GRm5JKNPj79iKb62Bz5mft7aEpPtTRfh/view?usp=sharing

unseenmage
2020-12-13, 10:38 AM
Thank you all for the suggestions and links. They've been helpful.

I'm currently thinking about making this character's first airship essentially an animated object. Using Ravenloft Devices and/or PF tech to make a non magic version of the Suspension spell that is also somehow either Permanent or constantly re-cast.

I could also either Minor Servitor or Animate Objects the ship as well.

Building it out of Soarwood could keep us from falling right out of the sky if worse came to worse. Possibly incorporate some Livewood and Living Metal with Shapesand reserves for emergency repairs. A Minor Servitor ship could theoretically repair itself with some sort of Shapesand layer between its hulls. Alternatively a Shapesand Awakened Sand crew member could shape themselves into a temporary repair as well. Both would be very very slow though as the sand is shaped via Wis checks correlating to volume of sand shaped.

I would like to find some self repairing cloth with which to make the sails as well but I have no clue where that could be found.

Quentinas
2020-12-13, 10:46 AM
The cloth is quite easy if you use shadow silk from Tome of Magic (that would be repaired without any problem during the night or if they are obscurated permanently somehow maybe with more hp so is quite difficult to destroy in one strike)

liquidformat
2020-12-13, 11:41 AM
have you checked out arms and equipment guide? it has a whole section on vehicles and a section specifically on flying craft. Hang Glider 300gp, Ornithopter 4,000gp, Dirigible 35,000gp, Zeppelin 60,000gp. It also has Soarwhale at 10,000gp for a young one. You could also look at buying a Griffon, pegasus, or other such flying mount.

Morty_Jhones
2020-12-17, 07:27 AM
I think your pricing for the Air ship is a steal,

If your that determined to have an airship you could ask your GM for a second hand one WITHOUT the annimated engine that should drop the price by 25,000gp. OK so you would have to do alot of rowing to get it moving but ot would give you a cheep option good for a starter charicter.

Endarire
2020-12-18, 04:19 PM
When I GMed a group with an airship, I handwaved the costs and construction, though I also made and managed the ship.

What about effigies from Complete Arcane? Maybe make or obtain an effigy of a colossal Construct with the appropriate templates for cheap! What about a simulacrum of such a creature for cheap?