History

.. Until recent times, Airships were a rare creation in Toril. Legend and lore of the Faerunian Continent speak of enchanted flying vessels built by the elves, or the flying machines of the dwarven kind. Several attempts would be made on the Great Realmism Continent, espcially by the Vectorian Kingdom in the 8th century. Inventors of steam technology and the steam engine, they attempted to make a flying vessel out of a watership (which were now using the steam engines to sail), and using a blimp filled with the rare gas helium to levitate it. This attempt was declared a failure due to the rarity of helium and weight of the steam engine system. The weight of the boilers, water and coal fuel causted the ship to be too heavy to be lifted by the helium. An airship would not be attempted again until the 12th century.

.. Makou Technology is the process of creating a burnable gas using the planet's Lifestream, a liquid energy that flows deep within the planet. Sid Deadwillow of the Tripower Kingdom discovered that a burnable gas could be created when the liquid of the lifestream was compressed with steam, and various forms of this fuel could be created. Most common is Makou Gas used in such applications as street lamps and housing lighting. The invention of the airship would be made possible by two other forms of Makou Gas and one vital creation, the Makou Combustion Engine.

.. Makou Gas #2 is a lighter than air gas, which unlike the two other forms of Makou Gas is not combustable. Makou Gas #3 better known as Makou Fuel is a sludge like liquid form of regular Makou Gas (Makou Gas #1), and is used with the Makou Combustion Engine. These engines are much smaller than the Vectorian Steam Engines and produce more power. Together with the now readily available lighter-than-air Makou Gas made airships possible.

.. The Tripower Company is a business with no official ties with the Tripower Kingdom Government. Created by Sid Deadwillow in 1254 as a corperation, it bares the Tripower name due to its three business owners (who also happen to be the founders of the Government). The Tripower Company would regulate and maintain the Makou Reactors and sale of Makou Gas, while also creating inventions which used the technology. Its first item for sale was the Makou Airship. They would utlize and use a new industrial technique known as mass production to create these airships. This onslaught of airships would cause a major shift in the Realmism Stock Markets and Corperations as airships were faster than the commonly used Locomotives and Waterships, demand for these ships would climb, and the continent itself would change.

.. Airships are an everyday sight in the Great Realms and with the public sale of Makou Technology, various classes and types can be found in the air. The continent is no longer as large as it once had been, a trip from Westbridge to Figaro once took months of travel was now reduced to a seven day flight. And this was only good for a continent built on centuries of business and trade.

Battle Cruiser Class

.. Tripower Co. Battle Cruiser - Battle Cruiser class airships follow the original design of the failed 8th century Vectorian Airships. In basic design they are a watership attached to a blimp flotation device and rigged with Makou Combustion Engines to drive propellers to give the ship forward and backwards momentum. As with all airships steering is handled with a series of rudders. Any ship of this basic design can be called a Battle Cruiser (or War Cruiser depending on size), but the most commonly reconized is the mass produced Tripower Company Battle Cruiser, one of the first airships created.

.. These ships are designed for a large crew and are not fast moving. Most are used for cargo transport as they can carry heavy payloads, but are also armed for battle. The blimp flotation device has changed over the years, the original being built of all canvas they are now a split design of metal and canvas. Typically the underbelly of the blimp is made of metal, and shafts connected with the main ship may be used to drive propellers or move rudders built directly on the metal frame of the blimp. Oddly though these ships can only carry 6 cannons, 3 on each side.

War Cruiser Class

Highwind Class

Juggernaught Class

Stormchaser Class

Single Seater Class

.. Airships are sometimes confused with spaceships, or seen as something of high technology. Airships are in fact not advanced technology. There is no harnessed electricity in the Great Realms, nor are there devices like hydralics. Airship technology would resemble something from the 19th Century.

.. At the heart of an airship are the engines. Makou Combustion Engines resemble an earthly diesel engine, a device made of iron with pistons inside that drive a crank shaft which powers the vehicle. The engine works on the same idea of a diesel engine which is compression. Fuel is placed inside the piston chamber and compressed. The air and fuel combination heats up under compression and explodes, driving the piston. Once the engine is started, it will run under its own energy and compression. These engines are started through a series of pulleys, cables, springs and weights. Original airships involve a key and lever system. A lever is pulled several times which tightens up several springs and raises several weights. The key is placed in what is known as the ignition, which in fact is nothing more than a secure triggering system. The key is turned which releases the tension of the springs and weights, which drives a series of gears and cables that turn the makou engines over. A newer system found on most modern airships involve only the key. The springs and weights for startup are drawn into position with a secondary system of springs and weights when the ignition key is turned to off. The off position includes another trigger which cuts the fuel to the engines, thus turning them off.

.. Airships have undergone several transformations in the devices used to levitate and float these ships. The original airships use a large blimp device which is filled with Makou Gas #2. These blimps were built half metal and half canvas and was connected with the main airship. Shafts and gears ran into the blimp allowing engine propellers to be placed on the blimp itself, along with rudder systems. Battle Cruisers and War Cruiser Class Airships utilize this type of system. Flotation and levitation for any airship is a balancing act. It is said a perfectly floated airship can be lifted off the ground by a single dwarf. Cargo Airships on the other hand are floated so they without cargo, they would float away.

.. 'Second Generation' airships as they are called use a totally different floatation system, such as the Highwind Class airships. These airships use a series of pipes and chambers built within their hull to float and levitate the airship. Without the blimp flotation device these airships prove to be much faster and have evolved into another class known as the 'Single Seaters'.

.. Not all races embraced Makou Technology in the belief that by using the lifestream as an energy source, they were possibly killing the planet. Such claims were mostly heard from the Blue Haven Kingdom, a government of the elven kind. The Stormchaser Class airships were designed using a more natural form of Makou, the crystalized Materia created by the lifestream. Stormchaser airships use materia for floatation and typically use natural or magical means to move, such as sails or magical spells. Ironically these airships were not possible until the creation of Makou Technology, as large quantities of materia was not common in nature, but form rapidly within the Makou Reactors.

Engines

.. There are two main types of engines used in airships, the Lift Engine, and the Drive Engine. Lift engines are used to move the ship up or down, and also aid in floatation. Drive engines are used to push the airship forward and in some setups, are able to drive the airship backwards. These engines constist of a Makou Engine usually housed within the airship or its own housing, connected to a device called a transmission. This box of gears transfers the power of the engine through shafts to the propeller housed on the outside of the airship. (There are no 'gears' nor any shifting, unless the airship has reverse capabilities these transmissions are always engaged with the engine). A third engine known as the Munchausen Engine is not an actual mechnical engine, but a magical device which is capable of teleporting the airship short distances.

.. Control of the airship is done through the Helm, which is made up of a large wheel and several levers. The wheel is used to move the rudders back and forth, giving you left/right movement. Two levers control the speed and power output of the engines, one lever for the lift engines, and one lever for the drive engines. The ignition key slot is usually found on the helm, with the ignition prime lever typically next to the helm. These levers and wheel are connected to cable and pulley systems.

Cannons

.. Unlike the rest of the airship compared to its older brother the watership, the system in which cannons are used have not overly change. The cannon itself remains the same, several updates have been made from the old watership systems. No longer did both ships sit on an even plain, but could change altitude in a matter of seconds. The original cannons sat on wheels and could be tilted up or down, while airship cannons are mounted on devices that allow them to swivle in multiple directions. Some of these devices even encorperate the controller into the device, moving them with the weapon (such as the underbelly guns of WWII planes). Cannon shells are large balls of iron (or other metals and materials) with one end filled with black powder. On waterships these shells were placed into the front of the cannon and 'rolled' back. A fuse was lit to ignite the black powder. Airship cannons use a rack system, several cannon shells are placed in a rack and loaded into the rear of the cannon. A hammer device causes a spark with the black powder, firing the cannon. With a quick move of a lever the cannon is opened up and the next cannon ball is loaded and ready to be fired. The Cannon Shell Rack must be loaded carefully, if the cannon ball is placed wrong it can misfire in the cannon, causing explosions.

Culture

.. Airships are the main mode of transportation of people and goods in the Great Realms, taking the place of their older brother the waterships. Along with this came the culture of waterships. There are four primary groups which populate both air and ocean, Airpilots, Outlaws Pirates and the Law. It should be noted though Outlaws have existed before airships, and even said to have existed before waterships.

Airpilots, is anyone who owns and or operates an airship and is not a pirate, outlaw or law enforcer. Primarily these are cargo pilots who make up most of the airship population.

Outlaws, are people who follow no other rules but their own and live by and follow a code they take pride in. Even though outlaws tend to snuff the law and participate in shady deals, unlike the common thief an outlaw can be concidered an upright person and citizen.

Pirates, only resemble their watership ancestors by nature. Watership pirates were crews of barbaric ruffians who pillaged sailing cargo ships for money and supplies. Airship Pirates conduct themselves in the same manor, but its crews are formed of wizard guilds, using their magical abilities to disable and destroy airships. The Heifong region is known for its pirates, and the Heifong Empire itself is controlled by a Pirate Guild who claims to no longer pillage the cargo airships passing this central location.

Law Enforcement, was a result of the airship pirates and outlaws. These two groups managed to disrupt law enough for the major governments of the Realms to form a branch of law for airships. These law enforcers attempt to keep peace in the sky and stop pirate activities. Due to the nature of Outlaws and their climbing popularity with airships, they've caused problems with these law enforcement organizations.

Manufactors

.. Since the governments and politicians of the Great Realms is driven by the merchant trading done by the businesses and corperations, its common for all major governments to have a 'unrelated' business front which deals with the sales and profits but is not truely controlled by the government itself. The Tripower Company builds and sells airships and makou fuel, but it is not officially a part of the Tripower Kingdom.

Tripower Kingdom, The Tripower Company

Heifong Empire, The Heifong Corperation

Figaro Kingdom, The Figaro Corperation

Blue Haven Kingdom, The Haven Corperation

Deva Empire, The Metal Corperation

Vectorian Empire, Magitek Corperation

.. There are plenty of 'independant' airship companies, the largest being the Judge Corperation which is owned and operated by Hathorne Judge, which is also the General of the Tripower Kingdom Armed Forces known as the Legion. Airship Incorperated is another located northeast of Westbridge.