More New Aero-ship (Zephyr) Designs

Throughout the week, whenever I was waiting for a query to populate or during lunch, I drew some more zephyr-ship designs on scratch paper.

A small tranport, very fast with three propeller nacelles and four internal lift pods the bulges on the hull).

A slow transport with six lift pods but only two propeller nacelles, armed with three gun turrets.

A small transport, like a greyhound bus, with four lift pods and two propeller nacelles with humongous propellers.

 A big modern transport with a four propeller nacelles and an unknown number of lift pods concealed inside the long horizontal cylinders, perhaps a new kind of lift pod that circulates anemoi along the length of the ship. The cockpit is located high atop the bow.

 Another new design with eight lift pods and four nacelles with no propellers, perhaps a form of impeller? Jet engines would be terribly inefficient in Cydoria since the Oudh has increased the amount of energy needed to approach the sound barrier.

A wide-bodied transport with four lift units and four propeller nacelles.

New Aero-Ship (Zephyr) Designs

I was in a two-and-a-half-hour long meeting yesterday, roughly 25% of which required me to speak. The other 75% required me to listen quietly and respond if asked. Whenever I have to sit and listen quietly, I start doodling. Here is the end-result of my doodles.

What you're not about to see are the 20 pieces of scratch paper with unused design ideas, vague shapes, and design-dead-ends. What follows is what I finally came up with. New aero-ship designs. When I finish the new version of the game, they will be called Zephyr-ships, powered by anemoi (instead of zephyrium).

Visible on the outside of the hull are the lift-unit pods, strategically placed along the hull to provide lift while maintaining structural integrity. I tried to go for a 1920's era aircraft design, with a little bit of Chris Foss inspired hull shapes.

Up first, a light transport. Small, with six lift-units. 

Second, a medium transport, roughly the same size and shape as the Serenity. It's got eight lift-units and a wider hull. Visible in the second view are some improvements, a little flat ledge that runs around the hull. You can also probably tell that the first design was originally much more rounded and curved on the bottom, which I didn't like, so I tried to straighten it out and flatten it more.

Finally, the heavy transport, the air-liner/heavy lift cargo plane of the Cydorian era. It's got ten lift-units and ten in-line propellers on two nacelles. It is the most intentionally Chris Foss-ian. 

If I ever get time, I'll model these in DOGA. 

Smuggling in Cydoria

A question was recently asked on the Cydoria Mailing List about handling smuggling and hidden compartments, so I adapted the forgery rules to cover customs inspections.

Customs Inspections

Inevitably, a smuggler will be put to the test by the authorities. Game­masters should use the following procedure to adjudicate customs inspections:

 

Step 1 - Papers please. What is your cargo?

Most inspections are cursory. Thorough inspections are only performed if the inspector has reason to suspect smuggling. Any inspector must make an opposed Insight skill check against the smuggler’s Etiquette, Fast Talk, or Persuasion skill.

• FUMBLE: The inspector doesn’t even look at the aero-ship.
• FAILURE: The inspector makes and cursory inspection and clears the aero-ship.
• SUCCESS: The inspector has detected something about the character’s demeanor that warrants closer examina­tion.
• SPECIAL: The inspector distrusts the character on sight. Any attempt made by the character to avoid clos­er examination by using Fast Talk suffers a penalty of -15%.

The cursory inspection should be modified by conditions. Is there a long line? Has it been a long day? Is the location un­der increased security?

1: Heavy Security: +20% to the inspector’s Insight

2: Increased Security: +05% to the inspector’s Insight

3-7: Standard Security: +0% to the inspector’s Insight

9: Light Security: -10% to the inspector’s Insight*

10: Lax Security: -30% to the inspector’s Insight*

*The inspector may be open to receive a bribe.

 

Step 2 - Do you expect me to believe that story?

A character may attempt to avoid a full inspection with a successful Fast Talk or Persuasion skill check.

• FUMBLE: The character has messed up and said some­thing wrong. The inspector has increased cause for ex­amination and receives +15% to the Spot check in step 3.
• FAILURE: The story has no effect, the inspector pro­ceeds with the examination.
• SUCCESS: The inspector accepts the character’s story but performs the thorough inspection anyway, receiving a -15% penalty the Spot check in step 3..
• SPECIAL: The inspector believes the character’s story, cancels the thorough inspection, apologizes for the inconvenience, and clears the aero-ship.

 

Step 3 - This ship is detained pending a full inspection. I want this ship torn apart!

The inspector orders a full inspection of the aero-ship, examining every nook and cranny, pulling panels off to look for voids or hidden compartments, etc. The full inspection takes 2D4 hours. The inspec­tor makes an opposed Spot skill check, modified by the current security level above.

• FUMBLE: The inspector finds no hidden items and apologizes to the character for the inconvenience.
• FALURE: The inspector finds no hidden items but still considers the character suspicious. He adds the aero-ship to a customs watch list and disseminates it throughout the Empire.
• SUCCESS: The inspector has found evidence of hidden items (d100% of total hidden items are found, the rest remains hidden), if any. If the items are illegal, the inspector will order the arrest the captain and crew. Pun­ishment will be carried out within 1-4 days.
• SPECIAL: The inspector has found 100% of any hidden items. If the items are illegal, the inspector will order the arrest of the captain and crew. Pun­ishment will be carried out within 1-4 days.

Heavy Security: +20% to the inspector’s Spot

Increased Security: +05% to the inspector’s Spot

Standard Security: +0% to the inspector’s Spot

Light Security: -10% to the inspector’s Spot

Lax Security: -30% to the inspector’s Spot*

*The inspector may still be open to receive a bribe, even after finding hidden items.

If the gamemaster really wants to get detailed, you can make the Spot check an opposed roll between the inspector and the "skill" of the hidden compartment. The "skill" of the compartment is based on the price of the compartment.

• Cheap 5%
• Inexpensive 25%
• Average 50%
• Expensive 75%
• Priceless 90%
• Restricted 100%