The Flying Brick

The A.S. Flying Brick is the first in a line Alchemical Dragon Class Airships. This light craft merges industrial technology with the alchemically ravaged body of a black dragon.

Complete Huge Sized AD Airship
AC: 8; Hardness: 5

hp: 400 (200)

Base Save: +2

OFFENSE Maximum Speed: 100 ft.; Acceleration: 30 ft.

CMB: +2; CMD: 12

Ramming Damage: 2d8

DESCRIPTION Propulsion: alchemical (1 square of alchemical engines in the middle of the ship; hardness 8, hp 40)

''' Driving Check:''' Craft (alchemy) or Knowledge (arcana) +10 to the DC

Forward Facing: the ship’s forward

Driving Device: Control Console

Driving Space: the space around the control console

Crew: 2 (pilot and engineering)

Decks: 1 (plus cargo)

Weapons: Up to 1 Large swivel direct-fire siege engine attached to the undercarriage

The Flying Brick
Powered by the black heart of Kyer-Ixidar, the Flying Brick is an unfinished airship prototype created by earth cleric Bruce to show those Esther worshippers that you can make an airship without their wussy air prayers. The engine uses a combination of wood, metal, glass, and draconic organs suspended in an acid solution, making the engine room look more like a beating open chest cavity than a machine. Exhaust pipes forged from black dragon bone surround the hull while the scaly neck, head, and jaws of the once mythic dragon make up the Flying Brick's ram. Sparks of lightning and thin lengths of wire run along the undercarriage, using the spiked spine of Kyer-Ixidar as a keel. A complicated system of levers, pulleys, dials, and switches makes up the Control Console on the upper deck. The cargo area is currently sealed. The fetishes of dragon bone, twisted metal, and charred wood give the Flying Brick a brutal physique, a contrast to the comfortable flying galleons of Esther.

That being said, the Flying Brick clearly lacks finishing touches. Some of the dials and switches on the Control Console are drawn on. Acrid tendrils of smoke sometimes rise from the floorboards. The engine makes constant coughing, sputtering, and wrenching noises. Some of the levers are labeled with question marks (i.e. Brakes?) or 'I'll fix this later'. There are open alcoves on the deck clearly reserved for heavy equipment. And the ship visibly has no landing gear. The only visible attempt at safety is a case covered in smoked glass marked 'In Case of Emergency'. As the ship is tested, a skilled engineer, alchemist, or crafter could correct these flaws and others when they come up. And there is always room for improvements.

The Lightpeak Retrofit
Spearheaded by Bruce, Moegid , and Yvaine and a combined pit crew from the churches of Harosh and Imaunte , the Flying Brick recieved a complete overhall that brought the alchemical dragon airship to peak efficiency. The dents and barbs have been smoothed and sharpened to polished black chrome, a lattice of chain rigging covers the dragons brutalized skeleton, and the darkened bone hugs the reinforced charwood hulk.

Working in tandem, each of these updates makes the Flying Brick the equal of any ship on Emden. Harosh ingenuity increased engine efficiency dramatically with the refinement of the acid solution, adding liquified lead salt to the mixture and insulating the wires and cables with silica. Imaunte 's pit crew chiseled advanced life support runic circuits to preserve the biological pumping organs of Kyer-Ixidar. The exhaust system is now regulated enough for the hold to open for cargo, hammocks, and a small workbench. Two razor sharp steel skis form retractable landing gear. The most extensive retrofit comes from Moegid, who gutted Bruce 's improvised switch and pulley system and replaced it with the seat, pedals, and levers of a salvaged Steam Giant.

Additionally, the ship has been extensively blessed. Along with a cleansing of Kyer-Ixidar's corpse by the church of Phol-Phoram, Bruce hallowed the entire ship as sacred earth to the god Harosh. Even from fifty feet away the god's protection can be felt, weakening evil, and strengthening good. The blessing also contians a scattering field that reveals invisible targets.

Finally, the Flying Brick added heavy weaponry to support it's ram. Escewing traditional cannon, the Flying Brick is covered in mutiple batteries of Medusa Class Machine Crossbows and two Whale King Retracting Chain Harpoons. For dramatic effect, massive black metal scythes stretch from stem to stern belted to the hull on either side.