Hot air balloon: Difference between revisions
Abra Saghast (talk | contribs) m Text replacement - "==External links==" to "== External links == {{External link disclaimer}}" |
Abra Saghast (talk | contribs) m Text replacement - "1st" to "first" |
||
| Line 17: | Line 17: | ||
| level = | | level = | ||
| value = | | value = | ||
| rules = | | rules = first Edition D&D | ||
| value1e = | | value1e = | ||
| weight1e = | | weight1e = | ||
Revision as of 12:37, 4 January 2024
| Hot air balloon | |
|---|---|
 A magical hot air balloon, depicted in The Book of Wondrous Inventions, illustrated by Jim Holloway (1987). | |
| General information | |
| Type: | Wondrous item |
| Rules | |
| Value: | 10,000gp+ |
| Weight: | 400-500lbs.+ |
| Publishing | |
| First published: | The Book of Wondrous Inventions (1987) |
A Hot air balloon is a vehicle which utilizes magic for locomotion.
Description
Hot air balloons utilize lighter-than-air methods to work, displacing cooler air, with the hot air of their envelopes.[1] They rely on a variant of a heat metal or control temperature spell known as heat air to fill the balloon envelope and provide lift.
The balloons themselves are made of thick, flexible, waterproof paper, "treated with organic substances such as thinned tree sap, gelatin, gluten obtained from flour, thick sugar solution, etc. These liquids glaze the outer side of the paper and prevent tearing. As a consequence, a halfling balloon often smells as fantastic as it looks."[2]
The gondola is made in varying manners of light woods such as raffia or wicker, most often woven, on a wooden frame.[2] The floor of the gondola is solid wood.[2] Attached to the sides of the gondola are bags of sand which allow mechanical control of altitude without using spells.[2]
The baskets of hot air balloons carry up to four humans. Due to the limitations of the magic, the aeronauts who create and pilot these vehicles have not been able to create larger capacity balloons.[2] However, magic is commonly used in aiding the navigation and control by balloonists, like "control winds, control weather, weather summoning, and gust of wind, and others.[1]
Creation of a hot air balloon from scratch takes at least 31 days and 10,000gp.[2] During construction, the envelope is magically protected with either protection from fire or resist fire and permanence spells since the glazes involved in the manual crafting portion can be flammable[1]. All materials used in construction are chosen very carefully for high quality, lightness, and strength.[1]
Non-magical lighter than air vessels
Other similar devices are described in The Eyes Have It, by Rose Estes (1989), though these are referred to as "flying balloons" and as "airships". These vessels are filled with a lighter-than-air gas, rather than super-heated air.[3]
History
They were originally invented by the halflings communities of the Grand Duchy of Geoff. A group known as the "Daredevil Cloudleapers" created the designs. Many of the first inventors were druids who used elemental magic to heat the air which fills the envelope of the balloon.
While the secrets have been tightly held by the hobniz, similar rival groups have also created similar designs. Some of these include the Cloudbusters, Cloudhoppers, Skymobiles, and the Airfarers. These halfling groups each have identifiably distinct colors and symbols, which proves useful when they engage in flying for sport, such as flying races and stunt flying. Human aeronauts tend toward the practical and their hot air balloons are most commonly painted blue (to provide camouflage in the air) and are used in mostly military applications. Hobniz aeronauts do not outfit their balloons with weaponry, though other cultures do.[2] Humans are not the only other culture to have discovered the means by which hobniz make hot air balloons.[note 1]
As the idea of hot air balloons spread, horrible fiery deaths occurred, especially amongst some human artificers who tried using fires to create the hot air necessary for lift. Halflings are viewed as being the best at making hot air balloons, though human inventors are successful.[2]
As with all ballooning, the landing is often the most frequently dangerous, and it is during landing when the gondola is at risk of being damaged.[1]
Some ideas which one might assume would naturally follow the invention of the hot air balloon, in fact, have not occurred.[1] Aerial mapping skills seem to have been incredibly difficult for most cartographers or artists to master.[1] Parachutes also have not been successfully invented.[1] Likewise, freefall jumping isn't something which has been performed.[1] There are other, easier, magical methods for achieving the same result. For example, rings of feather falling being standard issue for the skyriders of the Mountaineer Militia.[4] When there are levitate and fly spells to prevent falling, it's exceedingly unlikely these things would follow an invention of this kind.
Publication history
Hot air balloons were first described in the whimsical Book of Wondrous Inventions (1987).
Reception
Shannon Applecline, a popular gaming historian, wrote about the perception of humorous tropes in the source material:
"Genre Tropes: Silliness. When AC4: The Book of Marvelous Magic came out, it was peppered with satirical material that recalled the gameplay of D&D's earliest campaigns. AC11: The Book of Wondrous Inventions takes a step beyond that. With black pudding dishwashers, gnomish manapults, and modern-day items like pinball machines, coke dispensers, and locomotives, it's full on silly. This genre trope of silliness, often augmented with laughable modern technology, was a general trend at TSR in 1987 and 1988 that could also be seen in IM3: "The Best of Intentions" (1987) and most notably WG7: Castle Greyhawk (1988). Following this zenith, it'd continue at a lower level with adventures like WG9: "Gargoyle" (1989).
The idea that D&D could be unrealistically silly seems a bit odd today, but it was a reflection of larger gaming trends in the '80s. Back at the start of the decade, Flying Buffalo's Grimtooth's Traps (1981) practically invented the genre. Even TSR's "Gargoyle" adventure originated as an RPGA tournament three years previous. So, this wasn't just a sudden change in TSR's publication, but also a reflection of the wider gaming scene.
It would take until the '90s for D&D to fully return to a more serious, darker, and grittier ethos."[5]"
External links
Disclaimer:Any lore presented through the following links does not necessarily adhere to established officially published content, and the views expressed do not necessarily represent the views of the editors of this wiki.
References
Notes
- ↑ In discussion of weaponry, it is noted (on p.53) that while halflings do not arm their balloons, "other races" aeronauts use weapons. If only humans had armed balloons (as for military applications), "races" would not be plural.
Citations
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i AC11 The Book of Wondrous Inventions (1987), p.54.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h AC11 The Book of Wondrous Inventions (1987), p.53.
- ↑ Estes, Rose (01 September 1989) The Eyes Have It (Greyhawk Adventures novel), TSR, Inc. ISBN: 978-0880387552.
- ↑ From the Ashes (1992), p.33, Campaign Book.
- ↑ Applecline, Shannon. The Book of Wondrous Inventions. DriveThruRPG. OneBookshelf, 20 August 2016. Retrieved on 6 March 2022.
Bibliography
- Heard, Bruce A., ed. AC11 The Book of Wondrous Inventions. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1987. Item code TSR9220.
- Estes, Rose. The Eyes Have It. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1989. ISBN 0-88038-735-6
Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index
The Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index (EGI) is based on previous work of Jason Zavoda through '08, continued by numerous other fans. The EGI article has a list of sources, product names, abbreviations, and a link to the full, downloadable index.
| Topic | Type | Description | Product | Page/Card/Image |
|---|