The roar of distant cannon fire echoes through the clouds, heralding the French advance. The...
The Clouds Aflame : Rule the Sky
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The roar of distant cannon fire echoes through the clouds, heralding the French advance. The sleek form of the French ships of the line cuts through the gunpowder as they close in on the British line of battle. Yelling officers order air marines into the ropes, quick to repair any damage the early salvo may have caused. The ships of the Royal Navy turn harsh to port, bringing their broadside to bear upon the enemy.
The airships shuddered under the weights of their barrage, more than three hundred guns unleashed upon the French fleet. Every so often one ship would lurch heavily, as a French ball found it's mark, tearing through wood and men alike. Several ships on either side were visibly damaged, slowly dropping below the clouds. The French first rate Zele was aflame, a burning pyre shooting high up into the sky. An unlucky shot hit the Ajax in it's gunpowder room, a deafening explosion leaving nought but a torn union jack, fluttering away in the wind.
Held back from the line, two British vessels now turned to face the French line. A burning red glare illuminates the sky as hundreds of rockets burst among the french line, setting 2 smaller frigates aflame. Task completed and ammunition exhausted, the vessels set course for home.
Despite the sudden surprise, the tide soon turns against the British. The French guns are more accurate and fire faster, and slow attrition begins to break down the British line. By the time both fleets break away, the tally has been evened, the battle ending inconclusively.
So, that's it for the setting. Men of iron, ships of wood, all occurring hundreds of meters in the air because airships are awesome.
To be precise, the year is 1780, and James Watt has just invented the Aetheric convertor. These large and complicated machines allow the efficient conversion of heat (=coal) into Aether, a substance with an unprecedented lifting power, releasing large amounts of useable energy. Before Watt's invention, Aether could only be scavenged from the light of the sun with large arrays of complex lenses and precise filters. Even then, brave pioneers had painstakingly gathered the material to power a variety of scientific curiosities, the most spectacular of those being large wooden ships, floating miraculously in the sky.
At that time, the ships were considered a pointless curiosity. No one was interested in a vessel that would drift aimlessly upon the wind, plummeting towards the ground whenever it lost sight of the sun. With improvements in storage, use and creation of Aether however, flight become not only curiosity but practical. It will not be long before ships like this will determine the future of war.
For the rest, we're dealing with the world as it was in 1780. The first British Empire is about to be lost to a bunch of American revolutionaries, heavily indebting the Kingdom of France as it supports the revolutionaries. The Spanish Empire is still slowly recovering from a devastating succession crisis early in the century, just as the Portugese are recovering from a devastating Earthquake that destroyed it's capital. On the continent, Prussia is slowly starting it's rise, carving up the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth together with Russia.
You're not controlling any of these nations however. Instead, you'll be in charge of one of their major airship shipyards. It'll be your responsability to push the technology, lay down the hulls, oversee the construction, and lastly convince your nation they actually want the things.
Nation choice :
[] British Empire As the Inventors of the Aetheric Convertor, Britain has a strong technological edge. Faith in the technology among major admirals is limited however, and you'll be facing strong competition for resources by major industries
[] Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France is crumbling, deeply unpopular with both nobles and the common folk. But the Kingdom is not yet lost, and chaos does offer opportunities.
[] United States With the struggle against Great Britain ongoing, the Patriots have few resources to spend. However, they're willing to grasp every straw they can
[] Spanish Empire With a recovering economy, and a large colonial Empire, the Spanish Empire is striving to be a new Great Power
[] Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire gains much of it's prosperity from Brazil, from the wealth of resources within the Jungle, large plantations and plentifull reserves of gold.
[] Prussia Prussia possesses no colonies, and no navy worthy of note. It's an upcoming power however, and the idea of an air fleet may appeal to them
[] Russian Empire The Russian Empire is dominated by it's nobility, with common serfs enslaved upon the land. It is large however, and spends lavish amounts of money on it's military even if it can not afford it.
[] Write in ?
The airships shuddered under the weights of their barrage, more than three hundred guns unleashed upon the French fleet. Every so often one ship would lurch heavily, as a French ball found it's mark, tearing through wood and men alike. Several ships on either side were visibly damaged, slowly dropping below the clouds. The French first rate Zele was aflame, a burning pyre shooting high up into the sky. An unlucky shot hit the Ajax in it's gunpowder room, a deafening explosion leaving nought but a torn union jack, fluttering away in the wind.
Held back from the line, two British vessels now turned to face the French line. A burning red glare illuminates the sky as hundreds of rockets burst among the french line, setting 2 smaller frigates aflame. Task completed and ammunition exhausted, the vessels set course for home.
Despite the sudden surprise, the tide soon turns against the British. The French guns are more accurate and fire faster, and slow attrition begins to break down the British line. By the time both fleets break away, the tally has been evened, the battle ending inconclusively.
So, that's it for the setting. Men of iron, ships of wood, all occurring hundreds of meters in the air because airships are awesome.
To be precise, the year is 1780, and James Watt has just invented the Aetheric convertor. These large and complicated machines allow the efficient conversion of heat (=coal) into Aether, a substance with an unprecedented lifting power, releasing large amounts of useable energy. Before Watt's invention, Aether could only be scavenged from the light of the sun with large arrays of complex lenses and precise filters. Even then, brave pioneers had painstakingly gathered the material to power a variety of scientific curiosities, the most spectacular of those being large wooden ships, floating miraculously in the sky.
At that time, the ships were considered a pointless curiosity. No one was interested in a vessel that would drift aimlessly upon the wind, plummeting towards the ground whenever it lost sight of the sun. With improvements in storage, use and creation of Aether however, flight become not only curiosity but practical. It will not be long before ships like this will determine the future of war.
For the rest, we're dealing with the world as it was in 1780. The first British Empire is about to be lost to a bunch of American revolutionaries, heavily indebting the Kingdom of France as it supports the revolutionaries. The Spanish Empire is still slowly recovering from a devastating succession crisis early in the century, just as the Portugese are recovering from a devastating Earthquake that destroyed it's capital. On the continent, Prussia is slowly starting it's rise, carving up the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth together with Russia.
You're not controlling any of these nations however. Instead, you'll be in charge of one of their major airship shipyards. It'll be your responsability to push the technology, lay down the hulls, oversee the construction, and lastly convince your nation they actually want the things.
Nation choice :
[] British Empire As the Inventors of the Aetheric Convertor, Britain has a strong technological edge. Faith in the technology among major admirals is limited however, and you'll be facing strong competition for resources by major industries
[] Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France is crumbling, deeply unpopular with both nobles and the common folk. But the Kingdom is not yet lost, and chaos does offer opportunities.
[] United States With the struggle against Great Britain ongoing, the Patriots have few resources to spend. However, they're willing to grasp every straw they can
[] Spanish Empire With a recovering economy, and a large colonial Empire, the Spanish Empire is striving to be a new Great Power
[] Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire gains much of it's prosperity from Brazil, from the wealth of resources within the Jungle, large plantations and plentifull reserves of gold.
[] Prussia Prussia possesses no colonies, and no navy worthy of note. It's an upcoming power however, and the idea of an air fleet may appeal to them
[] Russian Empire The Russian Empire is dominated by it's nobility, with common serfs enslaved upon the land. It is large however, and spends lavish amounts of money on it's military even if it can not afford it.
[] Write in ?
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State of the Nation
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The Kingdom of France
Current Leader : Louis XVI of France
Stability : Low
Economy : Troubled
Army : Strong
Navy : Strong
Air Navy : N/A
Politics :
Royal Authority : Medium
Noble Influence : Significant
Bourgeoisie : Low
Peasants : Unsatisfied
Economy :
Economic Strength : Decent
Colonial Strength : Limited
Government budget : Severe Deficit
Debt : Large
Military:
Army
Numbers : Large
Quality : Decent
Technology : Decent
Navy Quality : Decent
Technology : Decent
Numbers : Decent
Quality : Good
Technology : Advanced
Airforce Quality : Good
Technology : Advanced
Numbers : Non-existent
Quality : N/A
Technology : N/a
Quality : N/A
Technology : N/a
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State of the Shipyard
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Name : Royal Airshipyard Ciels Libéré
Finances : Good +2
Influence : Tolerable +1
Reputation : Unproved -1
s chosen by roll.
Finances :
Royal Stipend : Large +3
Reserves : Decent +2
Upkeep : Small -1
Influence :
Royal : In his majesty's service +3
Nobles : Disliked -1
Army : Neutral 0
Navy : Good 0
Reputation :
Done nothing at all 0
Infrastructure :
1 Medium sized Advanced Slipway
Personnel :
1 Famous Weapons Engineer
2 Engineering Teams
1 Construction Team
Finances : Good +2
Influence : Tolerable +1
Reputation : Unproved -1
s chosen by roll.
Finances :
Royal Stipend : Large +3
Reserves : Decent +2
Upkeep : Small -1
Influence :
Royal : In his majesty's service +3
Nobles : Disliked -1
Army : Neutral 0
Navy : Good 0
Reputation :
Done nothing at all 0
Infrastructure :
1 Medium sized Advanced Slipway
Personnel :
1 Famous Weapons Engineer
2 Engineering Teams
1 Construction Team
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Design and Technology Repository
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Components
Non- Components
Solar Aetheric Extractor : A very expensive and complicated array of lenses and filters that can extract aether from the very light of the sun. Though not particularly heavy, the device takes up a large amount of space and must be placed in such a way that it always has access to the Sun. Normal : No Penalty, no bonus
Cost : -5
Primitive Aetheric Convertor : The best attempt of the French academies of science in replicating the James Watt's machines. It's enormously heavy and doesn't take well to being shaken or moved. However, the design works for industrial purposes, and as such development has moved in other directions. Complex: -10
Cost : -10
Silverskin Aether Bladder : Large bladders made from silvercoated animal skin in which aether can be stored under low pressure. If chained to a craft in large volume, they can provide sufficient lift to fly as high as desired. However, the bladders are not particularly leakproof. Without an onboard means of resupply, most ships can stay in the air for a few hours at most.
Normal : +5 Known
Cost : -5
Primitive Aetheric Convertor : The best attempt of the French academies of science in replicating the James Watt's machines. It's enormously heavy and doesn't take well to being shaken or moved. However, the design works for industrial purposes, and as such development has moved in other directions. Complex: -10
Cost : -10
Silverskin Aether Bladder : Large bladders made from silvercoated animal skin in which aether can be stored under low pressure. If chained to a craft in large volume, they can provide sufficient lift to fly as high as desired. However, the bladders are not particularly leakproof. Without an onboard means of resupply, most ships can stay in the air for a few hours at most.
Normal : +5 Known
Sails : An overly optimistic idea tried by a few early pioneers, thinking an airship was merely a flying boat. However, it is not, as airships do not have a sea to sail through. As such, sails only allow a ship to move in the direction of the wind, with no option to change course.
Simple: +10
Vertical Sails : An overly optimistic idea tried by a few late pioneers, thinking an airship was not at all alike a flying boat. However, it is not, as the wind still exists. The vertical sails allow a ship to move in whatever direction it likes if it changes it's altitude, but only if there's no wind present. Any wind present will throw the ship of course Known: +5
Primitive Aetheric Engine : Once more, the best attempt by the French academy of science. The Aetheric engine converts the continuous lifting power of Aether into motion through a series of pistons and rotating wheels. Bulky, noisy and prone to leaks if not inspected regularly, the aetheric engine is currently focus of continuing improvement. Complex: -10
Cost: -10
Ground Chain : For when you merely want to make a floating castle, not a moving one.A thick and stable chain to anchor your object to the ground. Simple: 10
Simple: +10
Vertical Sails : An overly optimistic idea tried by a few late pioneers, thinking an airship was not at all alike a flying boat. However, it is not, as the wind still exists. The vertical sails allow a ship to move in whatever direction it likes if it changes it's altitude, but only if there's no wind present. Any wind present will throw the ship of course Known: +5
Primitive Aetheric Engine : Once more, the best attempt by the French academy of science. The Aetheric engine converts the continuous lifting power of Aether into motion through a series of pistons and rotating wheels. Bulky, noisy and prone to leaks if not inspected regularly, the aetheric engine is currently focus of continuing improvement. Complex: -10
Cost: -10
Ground Chain : For when you merely want to make a floating castle, not a moving one.A thick and stable chain to anchor your object to the ground. Simple: 10
Canon de 4 Gribeauvual : A small 4 pounder artillery piece originally intended as field artillery. Light but still relatively powerfull, though smaller than 6 pounders used in other European armies. Ideally operated by 6-8 people. Modern construction techniques of the Gribeauval system make it lighter than it's contemporaries. Known: +5
Canon lourd de 12 Gribeauvual : The Siege variant of the common 12 pounder, with an extended barrel. It can be manned by as few as 6 people, but needs 15 artilerists to reach it's optimal 1 round/minute firerate. The 12 pounder is a deadly and effective weapon, though even with the advantages of the Gribeauval system it's fairly heavy. Simple : +10
Canon de 24 Gribeauval : The long 24 pounder is the largest siege weapon in the French arsenal. Weighting close to 3 tonnes, it may be a real struggle to get this mounted on any airship. Even a single hit is expected to wreck any airship it gets (though engineers warn it could just as easily do the same to the airship that fired it). Known: +5
Mortier de 12 : A 12 pounder infantry mortar, which can fire an explosive shell that devastating against infantry, and so it's hoped, airships. It's high trajector and lower firing speed do however result in a shorter range compared to any of the direct fire guns.
- Variant : Carcass Shells Relatively simple, but still fairly expensive shells filled with a mixture of flammable compounds and other reagents. These burning shells can be thrown against the enemy to make their entire ship go up in flames.
Simple : +10
Carcass Bombs : Simple Carcass ammunition to be dropped upon the enemy in improvised caskets, originally intended to safely store the ammunition. Can still be fired out of a mortar, if needed.
Complex: -10
Musket Model 1777 : An infantry musket. A trained soldier can fire this rifle thrice a minute and kill a man at 70 meters distance. Said to be more accurate yet slower firing than equivalent british designs, this weapon is sure to last a long while.
Simple : +10
Canon lourd de 12 Gribeauvual : The Siege variant of the common 12 pounder, with an extended barrel. It can be manned by as few as 6 people, but needs 15 artilerists to reach it's optimal 1 round/minute firerate. The 12 pounder is a deadly and effective weapon, though even with the advantages of the Gribeauval system it's fairly heavy. Simple : +10
Canon de 24 Gribeauval : The long 24 pounder is the largest siege weapon in the French arsenal. Weighting close to 3 tonnes, it may be a real struggle to get this mounted on any airship. Even a single hit is expected to wreck any airship it gets (though engineers warn it could just as easily do the same to the airship that fired it). Known: +5
Mortier de 12 : A 12 pounder infantry mortar, which can fire an explosive shell that devastating against infantry, and so it's hoped, airships. It's high trajector and lower firing speed do however result in a shorter range compared to any of the direct fire guns.
- Variant : Carcass Shells Relatively simple, but still fairly expensive shells filled with a mixture of flammable compounds and other reagents. These burning shells can be thrown against the enemy to make their entire ship go up in flames.
Simple : +10
Carcass Bombs : Simple Carcass ammunition to be dropped upon the enemy in improvised caskets, originally intended to safely store the ammunition. Can still be fired out of a mortar, if needed.
Complex: -10
Musket Model 1777 : An infantry musket. A trained soldier can fire this rifle thrice a minute and kill a man at 70 meters distance. Said to be more accurate yet slower firing than equivalent british designs, this weapon is sure to last a long while.
Simple : +10
Wood It worked for ships, why wouldn't it work for airships. A simple uniform wooden armor that serves both as structural member and armor. Very Simple : +15
Packed Sand Packed wet sand, an extremely cheap but very heavy solution to prevent fires onboard a ship. Only works if the offending projectile in question does not penetrate the sand armor, which can occur quite often.
Very Simple : +15
Packed Sand Packed wet sand, an extremely cheap but very heavy solution to prevent fires onboard a ship. Only works if the offending projectile in question does not penetrate the sand armor, which can occur quite often.
Very Simple : +15
Naval Layout : The tried and true logic of a naval design, only stripped of it's mast and sails. In place, it gains aetheric gatherers or bladders stored above the upper deck. Below, one finds the familiar broadsides, everything just as if it was naval vessel.
Normal: 0
Aeronautic Layout : Based more on designs made by the variety of aeronauthic enthusiasts. Here, the entire ship is build around the primary lift providers (often bladders). The armaments are placed even lower than in the naval layout, keeping the ship upright. Excess mass has been stripped where possible. In many places, momentary inattention could send one plumetting down. Operators of these vessels suggest tieing oneself in place.
Dificult: -5
Normal: 0
Aeronautic Layout : Based more on designs made by the variety of aeronauthic enthusiasts. Here, the entire ship is build around the primary lift providers (often bladders). The armaments are placed even lower than in the naval layout, keeping the ship upright. Excess mass has been stripped where possible. In many places, momentary inattention could send one plumetting down. Operators of these vessels suggest tieing oneself in place.
Dificult: -5
Aetheric Compressor : A fairly expensive but relatively simple aether powered contraption that compresses air effectively. This air can then be piped around the ship, plausibly being used to launch bullets at the enemy, or for other uses. Requires specially designed cannons.
Normal: 0
Cost: -10
Normal: 0
Cost: -10
Non- Components
Line of Battle A purely theoretical idea, but simple. Ships form up in one line, firing broadside after broadside into the enemy without fear of friendly fire. The line of battle is a simple, yet effective doctrine that has dominated naval warfare for years. It tends to avoid casualities, resulting in indecisive battles.
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Nation Selection : France
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Nation Selection : France
The Kingdom of France is an absolute Monarchy, led by King Louis XVI. Much as he would like it, the King does however not possess absolute power. Politically, he faces 3 competing desires. He wants to maintain or expand his own power but he also has to respect the powerfull nobility, and in addition to that the ideas of the Enlightenment are causing the citizenry and even peasantry to call for reform. All these competing powers are resulting in an unstable political situation, where needed reforms are either bungled or blocked by other interests.
Economically, the French state is not doing great. While it's economy is relatively stable and it's small colonial empire is profitable, it's expenses still far exceed it's income. This partially caused by the political deadlock, which prevents the implementation or reform of tax practices, and partially caused by the significant economic expense on military and naval forces. French aid in the ongoing American civil war is not helping either.
Militarily, France in this era is still a major power. On the Naval area it is aiming to once again become a direct competitor with Great Britain, with a planned major expansion of it's navy. The fact that the French navy was defeated in the 7-years war is an advantage here, as the Navy is now made up mostly of more modern vessels. The army has likewise resurged, ensuring that France remains a powerful nation. No airships are currently present, only the United Kingdom is fielding a few experimental designs. You however, aim to change that.
Shipyard Name :
[] Write-in
Sponsorship :
[] The Army : The new shipyard is part of the French Army. This means you'll be expected to build designs at first primarily for the army to use. Operating on land means you can have lower endurance as resupply is often close, but requires greater maneuverability so as to avoid crashing into the landscape. You'll start with good relations with the army, adequate funding and 2 Medium-sized normal Slipways
[] The Navy: The new shipyard is part of the French Navy. This means you'll be expected to build designs at first primarily for the navy to use. Operating at sea means you'll need great endurance to survive the long voyages, but the chances of running into an unexpected mountain are smaller. You'll start with good relations with the navy, adequate funding and 1 Small Naval Slipway and 1 Large Naval Slipway. Naval slipways give bonusses for things that float, and penalties for things that don't
[] The King: The new shipyard is independently funded by the King. This means there are no specific expectations, but it also means you'll have to justify your existence. You'll start with good relations with the king, adequate funding and 1 Medium Advanced Slipway. Advanced gives a bonus to everything
Bonus :
[] Extra Funding
[] A friend in the Royal Court
[] Famous Engineer (Write-in Specialization)
[] Famous Researcher (Write-in specialization)
[] Write-in
The Kingdom of France is an absolute Monarchy, led by King Louis XVI. Much as he would like it, the King does however not possess absolute power. Politically, he faces 3 competing desires. He wants to maintain or expand his own power but he also has to respect the powerfull nobility, and in addition to that the ideas of the Enlightenment are causing the citizenry and even peasantry to call for reform. All these competing powers are resulting in an unstable political situation, where needed reforms are either bungled or blocked by other interests.
Economically, the French state is not doing great. While it's economy is relatively stable and it's small colonial empire is profitable, it's expenses still far exceed it's income. This partially caused by the political deadlock, which prevents the implementation or reform of tax practices, and partially caused by the significant economic expense on military and naval forces. French aid in the ongoing American civil war is not helping either.
Militarily, France in this era is still a major power. On the Naval area it is aiming to once again become a direct competitor with Great Britain, with a planned major expansion of it's navy. The fact that the French navy was defeated in the 7-years war is an advantage here, as the Navy is now made up mostly of more modern vessels. The army has likewise resurged, ensuring that France remains a powerful nation. No airships are currently present, only the United Kingdom is fielding a few experimental designs. You however, aim to change that.
Shipyard Name :
[] Write-in
Sponsorship :
[] The Army : The new shipyard is part of the French Army. This means you'll be expected to build designs at first primarily for the army to use. Operating on land means you can have lower endurance as resupply is often close, but requires greater maneuverability so as to avoid crashing into the landscape. You'll start with good relations with the army, adequate funding and 2 Medium-sized normal Slipways
[] The Navy: The new shipyard is part of the French Navy. This means you'll be expected to build designs at first primarily for the navy to use. Operating at sea means you'll need great endurance to survive the long voyages, but the chances of running into an unexpected mountain are smaller. You'll start with good relations with the navy, adequate funding and 1 Small Naval Slipway and 1 Large Naval Slipway. Naval slipways give bonusses for things that float, and penalties for things that don't
[] The King: The new shipyard is independently funded by the King. This means there are no specific expectations, but it also means you'll have to justify your existence. You'll start with good relations with the king, adequate funding and 1 Medium Advanced Slipway. Advanced gives a bonus to everything
Bonus :
[] Extra Funding
[] A friend in the Royal Court
[] Famous Engineer (Write-in Specialization)
[] Famous Researcher (Write-in specialization)
[] Write-in
Game Start
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Vote Tally : Original - Alt. History - The Clouds Aflame : Rule the Sky | Page 2 | Sufficient Velocity
##### NetTally 1.7.5
[X] The King
No. of Votes: 5
[X] Ceils Faire Libérer
No. of Votes: 4
[X] The Navy: The new shipyard is part of the French Navy. This means you'll be expected to build designs at first primarily for the navy to use. Operating at sea means you'll need great endurance to survive the long voyages, but the chances of running into an unexpected mountain are smaller. You'll start with good relations with the navy, adequate funding and 1 Small Naval Slipway and 1 Large Naval Slipway. Naval slipways give bonusses for things that float, and penalties for things that don't
No. of Votes: 3
[X] Famous Researcher (meteorologist)
No. of Votes: 3
[X] Famous Engineer (Weapon design)
No. of Votes: 3
[X] Étendue Bleue
No. of Votes: 2
[X] Famous Researcher (Aether Physicist)
No. of Votes: 1
[X] Les Ailes du Roi
No. of Votes: 1
[X] A friend in the Royal Court
No. of Votes: 1
[X] Société des Chantiers Aérienne
No. of Votes: 1
[X] The Army : The new shipyard is part of the French Army. This means you'll be expected to build designs at first primarily for the army to use. Operating on land means you can have lower endurance as resupply is often close, but requires greater maneuverability so as to avoid crashing into the landscape. You'll start with good relations with the army, adequate funding and 2 Medium-sized normal Slipways
No. of Votes: 1
Total No. of Voters: 9
##### NetTally 1.7.5
[X] The King
No. of Votes: 5
[X] Ceils Faire Libérer
No. of Votes: 4
[X] The Navy: The new shipyard is part of the French Navy. This means you'll be expected to build designs at first primarily for the navy to use. Operating at sea means you'll need great endurance to survive the long voyages, but the chances of running into an unexpected mountain are smaller. You'll start with good relations with the navy, adequate funding and 1 Small Naval Slipway and 1 Large Naval Slipway. Naval slipways give bonusses for things that float, and penalties for things that don't
No. of Votes: 3
[X] Famous Researcher (meteorologist)
No. of Votes: 3
[X] Famous Engineer (Weapon design)
No. of Votes: 3
[X] Étendue Bleue
No. of Votes: 2
[X] Famous Researcher (Aether Physicist)
No. of Votes: 1
[X] Les Ailes du Roi
No. of Votes: 1
[X] A friend in the Royal Court
No. of Votes: 1
[X] Société des Chantiers Aérienne
No. of Votes: 1
[X] The Army : The new shipyard is part of the French Army. This means you'll be expected to build designs at first primarily for the army to use. Operating on land means you can have lower endurance as resupply is often close, but requires greater maneuverability so as to avoid crashing into the landscape. You'll start with good relations with the army, adequate funding and 2 Medium-sized normal Slipways
No. of Votes: 1
Total No. of Voters: 9
Name : Ciels libéré I fixed the text. Before, it read : "Skies make free". Both of the later were the unconjugated verb. Not saying this is now correct, but it's at least better.
Sponsor : The King: The new shipyard is independently funded by the King. This means there are no specific expectations, but it also means you'll have to justify your existence. You'll start with good relations with the king, adequate funding and 1 Medium Advanced Slipway.
Bonus : Weapons Engineer Tie, thus chosen by roll.
The details have been added to the OP.
Now, a quick introduction to how the game works. Each year is 1 turn, and consists out of 4 phases. The innovation phase, where new technologies are tried and developed, the Construction phase where those same technologies are combined in a working ship, the Influence phase where you try to gather additional resources for your shipyard, and then a news phase where we see what the rest of the world is up to.
1780 : Innovation Phase
The news dominates the newspapers. The British have not only build an airship, but they flew it all the way across the channel. Even more so, they flew it against the wind and despite overcast skies. They claim they will soon be capable of sending ships all the way across the ocean. What the newspapers aren't saying, is that the british airship was snapped in twain by an errant wind later that day. The King's letter, which revealed this information to you, asks that you will soon provide a French answer to this British involvement.
Year by year, the British are losing control of their colonies, and France is willing to help that along. Rumors are that soon french soldiers may be deployed to America, and the French fleet has been providing support as well. However, the French fleet however powerful does not have the numbers to challenge the British openly. Their ships are too numerous, meaning that any risk of defeat is a risk we can not take, let any further battle become unwinnable.
For now, however, there are no specific demands. We have our engineers, funding and resources. Better get to work.
Vote :
[]1 Famous Weapons Engineer Slot A :
[]1 Famous Weapons Engineer Slot B :
[]Engineering Team A :
[]Engineering Team B :
F
Each slot must be assigned to a project, like this :
[]1 Famous Weapons Engineer Slot A : Gun that fires butter
[]1 Famous Weapons Engineer Slot B : Lazor Eye Rays
[]Engineering Team A : Red paint to make stuff go faster
[]Engineering Team B : Blue paint to slow stuff down
Project description would ideally be saner and more descriptive than in my example, but there are no minimum requirements. Details (within limits) will result in bonusses to the roll. Ask questions about the setting physics if you want too. Make stuff up that seems logical at your own peril. If it makes sense, I'll incorporate it, but I may just as well reject it.
Several dice will be rolled for each of these projects. Your weapon engineer rolls 3d20 for weapons projects, but just 2d20 for any other project. Your Engineering team always rolls 2d20. Each project has a varying amounts of Slots that needs to be rolled for. This determines their performance. A simple project would have a Success and a Cost slot. More complex projects may have more. If there are more dice assigned to a project than there are slots, the lowest dice are eliminated. If there are more slots than dice, then 1 dice is split in 2 dice each rolling at a disadvantage.
Example :
1 Famous Weapons Engineer Slot A : Gun that fires butter (16,15,11)
- Slot 1 : Taste = 16
- Slot 2 : Consistency = 15
- 11 is discarded
Example :
[]Engineering Team A : Red paint to make stuff go faster ( 2 dice -> 4 dice at disadvantage
- Slot 1 : You're not Orks (10,9) -> 9
- Slot 2 : You're not Orks (7,3) -> 3
- Slot 3 : You're not Orks (12,16) -> 12
- Slot 4 : You're not Orks (16,11) -> 11
Lastly, additional resources can be dedicated to gain bonusses. Currently, you have no such resources. You can gain them in phase 3.
[]1 Famous Weapons Engineer Slot A : Gun that fires butter
[]1 Famous Weapons Engineer Slot B : Lazor Eye Rays
[]Engineering Team A : Red paint to make stuff go faster
[]Engineering Team B : Blue paint to slow stuff down
Project description would ideally be saner and more descriptive than in my example, but there are no minimum requirements. Details (within limits) will result in bonusses to the roll. Ask questions about the setting physics if you want too. Make stuff up that seems logical at your own peril. If it makes sense, I'll incorporate it, but I may just as well reject it.
Several dice will be rolled for each of these projects. Your weapon engineer rolls 3d20 for weapons projects, but just 2d20 for any other project. Your Engineering team always rolls 2d20. Each project has a varying amounts of Slots that needs to be rolled for. This determines their performance. A simple project would have a Success and a Cost slot. More complex projects may have more. If there are more dice assigned to a project than there are slots, the lowest dice are eliminated. If there are more slots than dice, then 1 dice is split in 2 dice each rolling at a disadvantage.
Example :
1 Famous Weapons Engineer Slot A : Gun that fires butter (16,15,11)
- Slot 1 : Taste = 16
- Slot 2 : Consistency = 15
- 11 is discarded
Example :
[]Engineering Team A : Red paint to make stuff go faster ( 2 dice -> 4 dice at disadvantage
- Slot 1 : You're not Orks (10,9) -> 9
- Slot 2 : You're not Orks (7,3) -> 3
- Slot 3 : You're not Orks (12,16) -> 12
- Slot 4 : You're not Orks (16,11) -> 11
Lastly, additional resources can be dedicated to gain bonusses. Currently, you have no such resources. You can gain them in phase 3.
1780 : Innovation Phase
10ebbor10
DON'T PANIC
- Location
- Present
Vote Tally : Original - Alt. History - The Clouds Aflame : Rule the Sky | Page 2 | Sufficient Velocity
##### NetTally 1.7.5
[X]1 Famous Weapons Engineer Slot A : Development of Aether-based propellants for weapons.
[X]1 Famous Weapons Engineer Slot B : Develop incendiary mortars/large-bore cannons
[X]Engineering Team A : Develop advanced propulsion methods for airships
[X]Engineering Team B : Develop fire-retardant materials
No. of Votes: 5
[X] A Viable Device
No. of Votes: 1
Total No. of Voters: 6
##### NetTally 1.7.5
[X]1 Famous Weapons Engineer Slot A : Development of Aether-based propellants for weapons.
[X]1 Famous Weapons Engineer Slot B : Develop incendiary mortars/large-bore cannons
[X]Engineering Team A : Develop advanced propulsion methods for airships
[X]Engineering Team B : Develop fire-retardant materials
No. of Votes: 5
[X] A Viable Device
No. of Votes: 1
Total No. of Voters: 6
Well, the theorists are unanimous about it, which an almost unthinkable surprise. It simply can not be done. See, the issue is that Aether is the remnant of a combustion reaction, all it's energy already spend and gathered. It's the ashes of the fire so to speak. At the same time, it's also tremendously hard to store, with even the best storage solutions only stemming the leaking rather than stopping it completely. Using Aether as a propellant for a cannon or gun is thus not possible, but your engineer does not let himself be deterred.
What Aether does posses is a tremendous lifting force. By harnessing this force to compress a reservoir of air, we get a usefull medium with which we can propel projectiles. Compressed air is easier to store than non compressed air after all, and the system appears to work quite well. However, any gun that would use this propellant would need to be specially designed, and for cannons it's likely that the aether consumption will be tremendous and the pressures required enormous. The Aether compressor is also fairly expensive due to the required aether containment, without which it would rapidly loose pressure.
Though the idea itself is not particularly revolutionary, the work itself does not go particularly well. Even so, the work goes well enough. Incendairy ammunition has been in the French army for a while. The Standard Carcass shell filled with pitch, resin, sulfur, resin, tallow and turpentine works very well in that regard. The hollow shells have several small holes through which the substance can leak out, allowing the incendiary ammunition to burn for more than hour after being released.
Securing the shells upon an airship may a bit troubling, but with proper precautions even that should not pose excessive danger. A lack of time prevented any further improvement on the shell beyond a few basic modifications.
The engineering team came up with an ingenious and marvelous idea. Rather than using vertical sails and going only the direction where the wind blows you, why not lay out your sails horizontally, parallel with the deck of the ship. Airshipmen can not control the wind, but they can control the height. By raising or lowering the height and tilting the sails accordingly, one can move at stately clip (3-5 knots) in any direction that is desired. It would be a genius solution, if it worked.
See, the sails and the bulk of the ship will catch the wind during such a maneuver, which will push the ship entirely of course. In practice, these sails systems allow us only to fly with the wind or, with great trouble, against it.
The team tests out a multitude of solutions, finding each and every one of them almost completely ineffective. In the end, they settle upon something very simple. Sand. Wet sand, to be precise. Packed around the flammable elements of the ship, it can smother flames and keep hot shot away from the wood. It also tremendously heavy, meaning that it would be hard to deploy on floating ships. rather than flying ones.
1780 : Construction Phase
The preparation is done, and now it is the time to assemble the first true airship of the France. Sure, prototypes have flown before, but they're limited things, testbeds rather than real vehicles. Your men are ready and you have more than sufficient resources, so constructions should be swift. It'll be a fairly small ship for now, but all great things have small beginnings.
The shipyard is brimming with activity. All they need know is to know what they need to build. You can order them to build a small ship, with little features and good odds that everything will work, or you can be a bit more ambitious.
Berths :
[] 1 Advanced Medium Berth
- [] Small Vessel
- Choose 5 elements
- Write-in?
- [] Medium Vessel
- Write-in?
- Choose 8 elements
Construction Teams :
[] 1 Famous Weapons Engineer:
[] Engineering Team A :
[] Engineering Team B :
[] Construction Team :
[] Construction Team :
A ship is made up of individual elements, those being the things you just recently designed. Most ships, in order to be functional, will need some form of propulsion, lift and structure. Otherwise the entire thing will fall apart, float away on the wind, or crash into the ground. Let's illustrate with an example.
HMS Tiny boat
- Longing for home (Propulsion)
- Helium balloons (Lift)
- Ducttape (structure)
Now, each part of these things will be rolled for on a d100, as will the general build quality of the vessel and it's general cost. All those rolls will be impacted by the quality of the components you designed earlier. In order to ensure that the ship flies properly, you can your engineering teams to 1 specific sections
[] 1 Ducttape expert : Work on ducttape.
They will then add the highest of their d20 rolls to the final result. Thus ensuring that the ship functions properly. In this case of our tiny boat.
HMS Tiny boat [Quality: 97 Cost 31]
- Longing for home (Propulsion) [1]
- Helium balloons (Lift) [63]
- Ducttape (structure) [64+ {13,8,2} = 77]
Notes :
- Larger ships have more components. This means higher cost and a more difficult to build ship, but also more functionality
- Just because the component doesn't work on paper doesn't mean the engineers can't fix it in the field. They'll just hate you
- You can assign groups to general build quality and cost control, rather than only individual subcomponents
HMS Tiny boat
- Longing for home (Propulsion)
- Helium balloons (Lift)
- Ducttape (structure)
Now, each part of these things will be rolled for on a d100, as will the general build quality of the vessel and it's general cost. All those rolls will be impacted by the quality of the components you designed earlier. In order to ensure that the ship flies properly, you can your engineering teams to 1 specific sections
[] 1 Ducttape expert : Work on ducttape.
They will then add the highest of their d20 rolls to the final result. Thus ensuring that the ship functions properly. In this case of our tiny boat.
HMS Tiny boat [Quality: 97 Cost 31]
- Longing for home (Propulsion) [1]
- Helium balloons (Lift) [63]
- Ducttape (structure) [64+ {13,8,2} = 77]
Notes :
- Larger ships have more components. This means higher cost and a more difficult to build ship, but also more functionality
- Just because the component doesn't work on paper doesn't mean the engineers can't fix it in the field. They'll just hate you
- You can assign groups to general build quality and cost control, rather than only individual subcomponents
Last edited:
1780 : Construction Phase
10ebbor10
DON'T PANIC
- Location
- Present
Construction said:
The wooden frame of the Bastion raises quickly in the Ciels Libéré 's big shipyard. Workmen crawl over the frame of the ship, assembling the thick beams that will keep the ship in one piece. Thick plates are attached to the wooden skeleton, upon which the ship's heavy equipment and cannons will come to rest. Already you can clearly see where the mortars, the 12 pounders and the massive 24 pounder will be located. In the center of the ship, the various structural beams converge to form a veritable web. This is the heart of the vessel, the place where the lifting aether will be contained. The Solar aetheric extractor will top the cylinder, while the extractor and it's coal reserve will take place at the bottom.
Everywhere else however the structure is sparse and light, in places even allowing one to see from one end of the ship to the other. Only what plating is needed to allow the crew to move from one spot to the other is added, with little to no frivolous weight. To an inexperienced crew these gaps and narrow walkways may be dangerous, but they spare a large amount of weight. To an experienced crew, the lacking walls should mean little trouble.
Before the decks can be completed however, the big pieces have to be installed. A large crane carefully lowers the large glas lenses of the Solar Aetheric Extractor into place. These will focus the light through a crystal set into the Aether tank, where the filter is installed that will separate aether from light. Putting the filter inside the tank is a great innovation that significantly lowers costs and increases efficiency of the aether extraction, because it avoids the need to transfer aether from the extractor into it's final storage.
The sun does not shine at night however, and without continuous supply the aether tank would drain within minutes. The lifting pressure of the Aether is so great that it'll squeeze through even the tiniest gaps, and escape with ease. Normally, one would use large silverskin bladders to hold the aether at far lower concentrations, thus extending the duration in which it can be contained. But the invention of the Aetheric convertor has allowed a different solution. A large machine, seated at the bottom of the Aether tank extracts the very lifting agent from the material, leaving only large amounts of heat and ash. The hot ashes are then dumped overboard, while the lifting aether is pushed into the tank.
Heavy carriages bring in the ships armaments. The massive 3 ton cannon de 24 are the first to arrive, doing so on a specially build carriages. It's great mass and powerful kick mean that the dozen cannons have to be build into the vessel, lest they tear themselves free whenever they fire. On a seaship one may be capable of bringing 36 pound guns, but the airships are both smaller and lighter in construction. Even a 24 pounder is a grand challenge, and our engineers take great care in ensuring that the battery will perform as expected, insisting on the reinforcements of several beams and on properly fastening the guns to the deck.
The ship's most numerous armament, the Cannon de 12 Gribeauval is installed above. The full battery of 40 guns would have made the ship a deadly opponent even in absence of the larger guns below deck, but in addition to the guns below the ship can turn anything within it's broadsides range to wooden splinters. The whole battery is wonderfully constructed, densely packed yet still navigable to the crew, the guns secured well but still capable of moving to absorb the recoil. The gun and shot is stored close to the hear of the ship, reducing the strain of the heavy shells and keeping the powder somewhat secure.
The last addition, placed on top of the hull is a battery of 12 mortars. Their highly flammable ammunition is kept separately from all the other weapons, stacked safely in a separate container to avoid the possibility of fire fire engulfing the ship. The armored container is latched securely to the ship's side, but if the worst comes to pass then the entire thing can be easily thrown overboard. Some have even suggested that this method could be used deliberately to lighten the ship, or to attack the enemy below.
Once all major components are in place, the hull can be added to the vessel. Thick wooden plates are attached to the outer supports, supporting not only themselves but also the rest of the hull. This makes the entire design stronger than it would normally be, as the outer hull relieves stresses about the internal structural members, at least as long as it is intact. You'll expect that it'll do fine against any kind of rifle fire, but cannonfire of any kind will be a real challenge.
The ship, or fortress really is a lethal opponent, but it's not without it's flaws. The chain that holds it to the ground is fragile and inconveniently secured . Firing the main battery risks tearing out the chain in it's entirety, which could tear the bottom out of the coal storage and cause the Aetheric Extractor to plummet to the ground below. In it's fall, it's likely to tear away the bottom of the Aether storage, leading to a critical loss of lift. A secondary issues concerns the wooden armor. While using the armor as a structural part of the ship made the entire thing lighter, it means that damage to the armor can compromise the rest of the ship.
Medium Vessel Bastion France does not use prefixes
Cost : Average
Flight altitude : Low
Mobility : None
Endurance : Long
Defenses : Strong
Weaponry : Strong
Advantages :
- Strong armament The vessels armament is very large, compared to expectations of these kind of designs
- Lightweight armor The armor is lighter than it defenses would suggest
- Efficient solar extractor Efficient solar extraction limits the need to use the
Flaws :
- Weak Anchor chain : Broadside fire can rip out the anchor chain
- Structural Weakness Aetheric Convertor : Significant damage to the Aether extractor will collapse the primary lift chamber
- Fragile Armor : Armor performance degrades fast if damage is sustained
Flight altitude : Low
Mobility : None
Endurance : Long
Defenses : Strong
Weaponry : Strong
Advantages :
- Strong armament The vessels armament is very large, compared to expectations of these kind of designs
- Lightweight armor The armor is lighter than it defenses would suggest
- Efficient solar extractor Efficient solar extraction limits the need to use the
Flaws :
- Weak Anchor chain : Broadside fire can rip out the anchor chain
- Structural Weakness Aetheric Convertor : Significant damage to the Aether extractor will collapse the primary lift chamber
- Fragile Armor : Armor performance degrades fast if damage is sustained
-Integrated Solar Aetheric Extractor
-Primitive Aetheric Converter
-Flawed Ground Chain
-20 gun Canon de 24 Gribeauval battery
- Compact 40 gun Canon lourd de 12 Gribeauval battery
-12 gun Mortier de 12 battery
- Ejectable Carcass shell armory
- Structural Wooden Armor
- Functional Aeronautic Layout :
-Primitive Aetheric Converter
-Flawed Ground Chain
-20 gun Canon de 24 Gribeauval battery
- Compact 40 gun Canon lourd de 12 Gribeauval battery
-12 gun Mortier de 12 battery
- Ejectable Carcass shell armory
- Structural Wooden Armor
- Functional Aeronautic Layout :
Btw, this was my idea for scale. (Well, my second idea. My first would have your ships way too small and utterly incapable of being effective against any naval vessel). You decided to defy that by putting a massive armament on a medium sized ship, which you could because of your advanced shipyard and some pretty decent rolls.
Small ship : less than 24 guns
Medium ship : 24-44 guns
Large ships : To be further subdivided when relevant
Oh, and in case it isn't clear, any roll higher or equal to 90 is a critical and simplifies the design, making it easier to build in future designs. Rolls higher than 100 add new components.
Small ship : less than 24 guns
Medium ship : 24-44 guns
Large ships : To be further subdivided when relevant
Oh, and in case it isn't clear, any roll higher or equal to 90 is a critical and simplifies the design, making it easier to build in future designs. Rolls higher than 100 add new components.
1780: Influence Phase Introduction
10ebbor10
DON'T PANIC
- Location
- Present
Versailles
The grand palace of Versailles is the center of the France. Here the King rules over his subjects, and nobility tries to convince him that their decisions are the right ones. Some say it is a gilded cage, an expensive distraction so that the King can control the country while they lavish in luxury. Others claim it is an Ivory Tower, from where the King and nobility order the citizenry and various political parliaments around. In truth, not all decisions are made here at Versailles, as even Louis XVI 's absolute reign is not powerful enough to order as he pleases. But despite that, Versailles is the center of France, and the place where you will meet the King.
Your audience with the King is short. As primary investor he keeps a personal eye in the proceedings, but little more than that. There are other, more important things going on within the confines or Versailles, and with the state of France. You do have a moment to speak to him about your newest design, the Bastion. How you portray it to him is of grand importance. If you speak highly of it, the King may reward you or may order more of them made. However, if the design does not perform to expectations, that would earn you his ire. Perhaps it may be better to speak of it as a prototype? The King may dislike the fact that you have supplied nothing tangible, but it would only be a minor annoyance.
Of course, the King is not the only one present at Versailles. You meet Jacques-Noel Sane, an interesting man. Naval engineer by trade, he's currently working on several design competitions for the French Navy. Apparently, they intend to standardize the designs of many of the smaller ships, and he's working hard on competing in many of them. However, a few details are troubling him still, primarily considering the weaponry. You could perhaps aid him there, and then reciprocate later.
Another issue that dominates the royal court is the matter of the United States. France's financial situation is not particularly great, and a massive intervention within the country would be an enormous expense. On the other hand, reports from Lafayette and others indicate that the war could very well be won, which would deliver a significant blow to the British Empire. Though you doubt your position will influence anything, it could result in you being noticed by many within the court.
As you make to leave the Court, you are recognized and spoken too by one of the minor nobles. A surprise, as you are far from the most important person at court. The fellow introduces himself as some minor noble, but more importantly as a member of Paris's Academy for Aetheric Research. You've heard of it. It's a smallish organisation having members both among the well-of citizenry and the minor nobility, and it's well known for coming up with controversial theories, some of whom have been right. They claim they're onto something big this time, but lack the funds to create their final experiment. When you hear the figure they require, it doesn't surprise you in the least. The academie is not disrespected, but it does not command enough influence to get funding that could build a first rate. With that, you do have the means to pay for them, but it would take a significant gap out of your finances.
Vote :
Royal Audience :
-[][ROYAL] The Bastion is a magnificent vessel, that can turn the tide of battle. (+ influence, ++reputation, + funding, + royal, 10 build ,mayor consequences)
-[][ROYAL] The Bastion is great, but only where it is truly needed. (+ reputation, +royal , 5 build , normal consequences)
-[][ROYAL] The Bastion was a prototype, nothing more. (chance of - royal , 1 build , no consequences)
-[][ROYAL] Write-in
-[][ROYALREQ] Write in if you want to try and ask something of the King
Jacques-Noel Sane :
-[][Sane] Whatever you need (loose 1 weapon engineer innovation slot next turn)
-[][Sane] We can offer some aid (-2 to weapon engineer innovation rolls next turn)
-[][Sane] Best luck to you (No aid)
-[][Sane] Write in
-[][SaneREQ] Write in if you want to Demand something concrete, rather than an abstract favour
The American War of Independence :
-[][USA] Support
-[][USA] Against
-[][USA] No opinion
-[][USA] Write in
Aetheric Academy :
-[][Aether] I can offer you the full sum (Guaranteed degradation of money stat, big experiment)
-[][Aether] I can offer you at least some money (Chance of degradation of money stat, small experiment)
-[][Aether] I'm willing to aid, if you're willing to look at some of my issues (Penalty to monetary acquisitions, 1 temporary Aether innovation slot)
-[][Aether] I can't help you
Monetary acquisitions : (Pick as many as you like. If you double down, include a *2. A Dice check will be made to see if you can acquire them without lowering your money stat)
- New Shipyard Berth (Very Expensive)
- Expand Shipyard Berth (Very Expensive)
- Upgrade Shipyard Berth (Extremely expensive)
- Hire Engineering Team (Expensive)
- Hire Construction Team (Expensive)
- Hire Researcher Team (Expensive)
- Buy Materials (Temp bonus construction) (Simple)
- Buy labratory supplies (Temp bonus research) (Simple)
The grand palace of Versailles is the center of the France. Here the King rules over his subjects, and nobility tries to convince him that their decisions are the right ones. Some say it is a gilded cage, an expensive distraction so that the King can control the country while they lavish in luxury. Others claim it is an Ivory Tower, from where the King and nobility order the citizenry and various political parliaments around. In truth, not all decisions are made here at Versailles, as even Louis XVI 's absolute reign is not powerful enough to order as he pleases. But despite that, Versailles is the center of France, and the place where you will meet the King.
Your audience with the King is short. As primary investor he keeps a personal eye in the proceedings, but little more than that. There are other, more important things going on within the confines or Versailles, and with the state of France. You do have a moment to speak to him about your newest design, the Bastion. How you portray it to him is of grand importance. If you speak highly of it, the King may reward you or may order more of them made. However, if the design does not perform to expectations, that would earn you his ire. Perhaps it may be better to speak of it as a prototype? The King may dislike the fact that you have supplied nothing tangible, but it would only be a minor annoyance.
Of course, the King is not the only one present at Versailles. You meet Jacques-Noel Sane, an interesting man. Naval engineer by trade, he's currently working on several design competitions for the French Navy. Apparently, they intend to standardize the designs of many of the smaller ships, and he's working hard on competing in many of them. However, a few details are troubling him still, primarily considering the weaponry. You could perhaps aid him there, and then reciprocate later.
Another issue that dominates the royal court is the matter of the United States. France's financial situation is not particularly great, and a massive intervention within the country would be an enormous expense. On the other hand, reports from Lafayette and others indicate that the war could very well be won, which would deliver a significant blow to the British Empire. Though you doubt your position will influence anything, it could result in you being noticed by many within the court.
As you make to leave the Court, you are recognized and spoken too by one of the minor nobles. A surprise, as you are far from the most important person at court. The fellow introduces himself as some minor noble, but more importantly as a member of Paris's Academy for Aetheric Research. You've heard of it. It's a smallish organisation having members both among the well-of citizenry and the minor nobility, and it's well known for coming up with controversial theories, some of whom have been right. They claim they're onto something big this time, but lack the funds to create their final experiment. When you hear the figure they require, it doesn't surprise you in the least. The academie is not disrespected, but it does not command enough influence to get funding that could build a first rate. With that, you do have the means to pay for them, but it would take a significant gap out of your finances.
Vote :
Royal Audience :
-[][ROYAL] The Bastion is a magnificent vessel, that can turn the tide of battle. (+ influence, ++reputation, + funding, + royal, 10 build ,mayor consequences)
-[][ROYAL] The Bastion is great, but only where it is truly needed. (+ reputation, +royal , 5 build , normal consequences)
-[][ROYAL] The Bastion was a prototype, nothing more. (chance of - royal , 1 build , no consequences)
-[][ROYAL] Write-in
-[][ROYALREQ] Write in if you want to try and ask something of the King
Jacques-Noel Sane :
-[][Sane] Whatever you need (loose 1 weapon engineer innovation slot next turn)
-[][Sane] We can offer some aid (-2 to weapon engineer innovation rolls next turn)
-[][Sane] Best luck to you (No aid)
-[][Sane] Write in
-[][SaneREQ] Write in if you want to Demand something concrete, rather than an abstract favour
The American War of Independence :
-[][USA] Support
-[][USA] Against
-[][USA] No opinion
-[][USA] Write in
Aetheric Academy :
-[][Aether] I can offer you the full sum (Guaranteed degradation of money stat, big experiment)
-[][Aether] I can offer you at least some money (Chance of degradation of money stat, small experiment)
-[][Aether] I'm willing to aid, if you're willing to look at some of my issues (Penalty to monetary acquisitions, 1 temporary Aether innovation slot)
-[][Aether] I can't help you
Monetary acquisitions : (Pick as many as you like. If you double down, include a *2. A Dice check will be made to see if you can acquire them without lowering your money stat)
- New Shipyard Berth (Very Expensive)
- Expand Shipyard Berth (Very Expensive)
- Upgrade Shipyard Berth (Extremely expensive)
- Hire Engineering Team (Expensive)
- Hire Construction Team (Expensive)
- Hire Researcher Team (Expensive)
- Buy Materials (Temp bonus construction) (Simple)
- Buy labratory supplies (Temp bonus research) (Simple)
Player Thoughts: The Big Banana
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Ladies and gentlemen, I have had a realization.
Airships based on Aether are likely to look not like zeppelins, but like giant bananas. Why? Because of how the aetheric engine functions. Such an engine converts the vertical rise of aether into rotational motion, likely by some sort of airtight water-wheel. The aether doesn't lose any lifting power by doing work on the waterwheel, so it makes sense to put a second one above that, and another above that one and so on and so forth in order to extract the maximum amount of lifting force from the aether before it is vented. This means you have a tall chimney filled with these 'aether-wheels', likely connected by a pulley to a gear-box and then to a single or several propellers.
That means efficient ships are tall. And furthermore, this makes them more stable as well: the aetehric converter goes at the bottom, then the coal resevoir (which can be dumped into the converter via good old fashioned gravity), then cargo, and finally the gas bags. The 'bridge' is at the bottom, and looks more like the caboose of a locomotive (what with the engineers tending to the converter right there) - at least on civilian ships (military ships might relocate the bridge to the top so the captain can have a commanding view of the whole airspace) where civilian captains want to be closer to the ground so they can direct the ground crew when landing.
edit: TA-DAAAAA!
Blue - Water tank, for gravity fed firefighting, since the col burner is at the bottom of this very light weight, very combustible ship.
White - Gas bags.
Brown - Cargo space.
Grey - Coal storage.
Black (get it?) - Aetheric converter.
Red - Coal exhaust. Opens at the top so the wind doesn't blow it back unto the ship.
Yellow - Aetheric engine, connected to props and rudder (only left/right, altitude is controlled by venting/building up aether in the gas bag).
Green - Crew spaces.
It's made up largely of square panels and straight beams in order to reduce the costs of construction. How does it look? A worthy next prototype?
edit 2: I've changed my mind, water-wheels lead to too much loss of lift power. A pulley attached to a bunch of upside down buckets that vent at the top would be more efficient. Design coming later tomorrow.
Airships based on Aether are likely to look not like zeppelins, but like giant bananas. Why? Because of how the aetheric engine functions. Such an engine converts the vertical rise of aether into rotational motion, likely by some sort of airtight water-wheel. The aether doesn't lose any lifting power by doing work on the waterwheel, so it makes sense to put a second one above that, and another above that one and so on and so forth in order to extract the maximum amount of lifting force from the aether before it is vented. This means you have a tall chimney filled with these 'aether-wheels', likely connected by a pulley to a gear-box and then to a single or several propellers.
That means efficient ships are tall. And furthermore, this makes them more stable as well: the aetehric converter goes at the bottom, then the coal resevoir (which can be dumped into the converter via good old fashioned gravity), then cargo, and finally the gas bags. The 'bridge' is at the bottom, and looks more like the caboose of a locomotive (what with the engineers tending to the converter right there) - at least on civilian ships (military ships might relocate the bridge to the top so the captain can have a commanding view of the whole airspace) where civilian captains want to be closer to the ground so they can direct the ground crew when landing.
edit: TA-DAAAAA!
Blue - Water tank, for gravity fed firefighting, since the col burner is at the bottom of this very light weight, very combustible ship.
White - Gas bags.
Brown - Cargo space.
Grey - Coal storage.
Black (get it?) - Aetheric converter.
Red - Coal exhaust. Opens at the top so the wind doesn't blow it back unto the ship.
Yellow - Aetheric engine, connected to props and rudder (only left/right, altitude is controlled by venting/building up aether in the gas bag).
Green - Crew spaces.
It's made up largely of square panels and straight beams in order to reduce the costs of construction. How does it look? A worthy next prototype?
edit 2: I've changed my mind, water-wheels lead to too much loss of lift power. A pulley attached to a bunch of upside down buckets that vent at the top would be more efficient. Design coming later tomorrow.
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