Gnomes airships are often over done, with a variety of embellishments and overly complicated steering mechanisms, proposal systems, and weapons. Gnomes like making something just to see if it's possible, not always because it's needed (like the Japanese or Electronic Nerds) and this carries over to their airships. They're more likely to use nontraditional materials and sometimes makes hulls out of things other then floating rock. Some places even make gnome airships dock separately from the main docks to do less damage when they inevitably explode. Gnomes are also the leading manufacturer of airships and make many conventional models to sell to others.
Humans and Lizardfolk tend to contract their airship construction out to the gnomes, but that is not always the case. Both these species make more practical airships, though both portray ascetics pleasing to their species.
The other "friendly" species don't normally construct airships, dwarves are busy securing their lands, halflings would never build such crazy technological things, kobolds try and rarely succeed, but more often it ends in disaster. Minotaurs may open a airship construction facility or be part of a group that constructs them, but none of their identity comes through due to no large species presence.
Of the "monster" species, only the gnolls will receive mention now, many live on airships, using them as the ultimate raiding vehicles, and indeed, the very vehicles are raided themselves. Gnolls do not build their own airships, they take them, and many are in desperate need of repair, barely holding together with no attempt to fix them. Gnolls don't bother with such things, they run it till it breaks then take another to ruin, after all, they didn't put any work into making it in the first place.
I always saw the Humans (and most everyone) using the rock-based airships, with the Gnomes having the totally wacked out blimps, pedal powered hovercrafts, air elementals shoved into a bag, etc.
ReplyDeleteI guess the gnomes could build the basic rock ones, as well. Seems like something pretty trivial to do, though. Find a hunk of rock, carve a bit. Off you go.
@Sean:
ReplyDeleteSure it's trivial, but that's like saying it's trivial to build a raft, throw some wood together, tie it up, good to go. But if you want a good boat, you get an expert to make it for you
Humans and Lizardfolk do make their own ships, as I stated, but many license it out to the Gnomes cause they'll do a better job, like the Japanese with our cars, the Gnomes don't mind, they don't get to go crazy out there with ships built for the humans and Lizardfolk, but they get to use the money they make building those ships to build the crazy wacky ones for themselves.