Airship Components: R&D Contest (NA) - Entry Thread

[GunsBlazing]

Character name: Tuli Qalli
World name: Balmung
In-game Item: Scarf of Wondrous Wit

Component name: Gobbie Gofast Engine Mk I

When it comes to producing raw horsepower, few can compare to the marvels of Goblin technology. Who better to steal borrow ideas from than the masterful mechanics, themselves?!



In order to infiltrate a known goblin stronghold, one bold adventurer donned the guise of the lively little beastfolk. Slipping past the sentries was a cakewalk for this master of subterfuge!

***



Left to her own devices with an infamous gobmachine, our dashing heroine laid claim to the rolling metal beast. Escaping the stronghold was a cinch with the raw firepower of the tank. Though we would like to say no beastmen were harmed in the making of this engine, that would be an utter lie. Many lives were quelled beneath the treads of the war machine, and even more bit it at the end of the barrels of its impressive cannons.

***



Prize in hand, all that was left now was to gently encourage (read; demand) the crafting guilds to lend their prowess to the cause. With a little nifty reverse-engineering, the secrets of the Goblin engines were ripe for the picking. The sheer power of a prop powered by the Gobbie Gofast Engeine Mk I is sure to knock your socks off... From a malm away!

[peachybones]

Character name: Peach Rhiki
World name: Brynhildr
In-game Item: Scarf of Wondrous Wit

Component name: Gordian Slide

Do you have crummy piloting skills? Then my Gordian Slide is perfect for you! This new invention will allow you to slide out of your airship swiftly and smoothly without any landing needed.



To gather the materials, I spoke to the Goblins in Outer La Noscea who are very familiar with mechanical crafts. They offered I do tasks for them in exchange for some aurum regis and adamantite nuggets, which I did!



With the gathered materials, I flew to the Dravanian Hinterlands and looked for the best spot that has Alexander's view.



Alexander was my inspiration and I wanted to get the best view in order to craft my Gordian Slide to perfection!

[Lokgar]

Character name: Lepapa Vespertine
World name: Balmung
In-game Item: Scarf

Component name: PRE (Popoto Ready to Eat)

What's the one thing essential to an expedition? Swords? Courage? WRONG! The answer is food! Food keeps morale high and your adventuring minions fellow explorers happy.

Here we see a delicious PRE about to enjoyed by a weary adventurer.

First select a popoto. This might be tricky. Popotos are devious. They are small, fast, and hide among foliage, and they know it. Thanalan is famous for having a superb stock of the finest popotos. Don't mind the screams of fright, just think of the end result: Delicious PRE!

They may run fast, but those stunty popoto legs are no match for a broomstick!

Next, cook it to your liking. The hotter the flames, the more salty tears for flavoring! Enjoy!

[ombapho]

Miniature Dragonkiller

Character name: Ez Aditya
World name: Adamantoise
In-game item: Bluebird Earrings

Component name: Miniature Dragonkiller

Fighting Bismarck makes us realize how vulnerable we are fighting against sky dwellers. It's a Trial proven impossible without using Dragonkiller. So why not fashion ourselves Miniature Dragonkiller to be mass produced on every Airship?



To the Ishgard's Skysteel Manufactory where I think the technology lies! Besides, we have to ask if Dragonkillers are already patented or not



Turns out that the method of crafting Miniature Dragonkiller is proven impossible without mastercraft help. Who else but Gerolt that can help us?



Success! Now we can safely explore the skies of Abalathian without worry of any flying enemies trying to terrorize us.

[Volsung]

Character: Adell Raynes
Server: Balmung
Component: Blazing Ifspresso Machine
Item: Scarf of Wondrous Wit.

My Friends and I always need a little pick me up when out adventuring for time on end. The answer to that is Coffee!
When you want the best you need a good heat source. I know just the fellow to provide that!


Next we need a solid metal and mythrite is just the ticket, if tanks can use it, it is good enough to process our delicous drinks.

It may be chilly, but I'm dreaming hot java.

And when I finally get all the materials I can craft up my new Blazing Ifspresso Machine. My friends seem to be drinking coffee
while waiting on coffee.... oh bother.


The community needs this for that little pick me up every day. And who is going to complain about a complimentary food buff?

Ifrit ain't hot!

[Seyrr]

Character: Seyrr Timono
World: Hyperion
Component: Hull de Cuisine
Item: Bluebird Earrings

To withstand the harsh conditions of the Sea of Clouds, your crew needs provisions. Forget salt-cured boar and hardtack - you want something made fresh. I present to you the Bismarck of the skies, th- (what? A giant skywhale? Ugh, I'll rewrite it later.) Ahem. The Hull de Cuisine!


These facilities were designed with guidance from culinary experts, minimizing weight and adapting knife techniques to a moving airship environment.


We have carried out countless tests to adapt your favorite recipes to the unique requirements of airship life. From fresh ingredients procured in the field...


...to adjusting cooking times and flavor profiles for high-altitude dining, no detail has been overlooked in providing meals that are both fortifying and comforting.

[Percimont]

I was notified that there was a bug causing the maximum character length of the submissions to be 1000 characters and that this has been fixed. I am re-posting my entry in its original, intended format. I apologize that I unable to edit or delete my previous posts. As per contest rules, if this repeat post is not eligible for submission, I understand. Thank you.

Character: Percimont Brisenoix
World: Excalibur
Airship Component: Sky Fish Livewell
Requested Prize: Mandragora Choker

Vanu folklore tells of a legendary white whale said to swim in the Sea of Clouds, but adventurers who have visited the region tell stranger tales of all manner of fish living within the clouds. Yet like all good fishing stories, those telling them provide little to support their claims. But what if the stories are true? What if the skies really are teeming with undiscovered sky fish? What cures could be derived from them? What culinary creations?

Despite a growing curiosity, I held my doubts as to the veracity of these fish tales until one fateful afternoon at The Forgotten Knight. A group of adventurers returning from Camp Cloudtop excitedly burst in and laid a bundle on one of the tables. The stench as they unwrapped it was horrific, but all gathered around to see. Though badly decomposed, the fins, flexible scales, and telltale aether bladder all confirmed this to be a sky fish unlike any seen before.



My doubts were erased. Clearly, undiscovered species of sky fish exist in the skies above Abalathia, and they must needs be found. I learned of an upcoming exploratory expedition into the Sea of Clouds, and they agreed to bring back any sky fish specimens they happened to find. However, the decaying smell of the fish at The Forgotten Knight was fresh in my mind (and perhaps still in my clothes). Fresher and preferably live specimens would have to be obtained. Lominsan fishing barges often employ livewells--large chambers filled with sea water--to keep their catches alive until they reach market. Perhaps a similar structure could be designed for sky fish.



I had two short weeks before the exploratory voyage set sail, so I hurriedly set about creating the livewell. My travels took me to Naldiq & Vymelli's, the Moraby Drydocks, and the fishermen's and weavers' guilds to devise schematics for the modified livewell. I ventured first to the Chocobo Forest and then to the Western Highlands of Coerthas to procure the ramie cloth and cedar that I would need for construction.



Using my carpentry skills and some cobalt nails which I purchased from the markets, I crafted a cubic wooden frame measuring five fulms on each side. I secured the ramie cloth to the four walls and top of the cedar frame. I slit an opening in the fabric along one side and fastened a strip of gryphonskin leather around this to create a securable aperture through which sky fish could be placed into the livewell.

My pride at my construction was short-lived, however. As I arrived with it to the airship landing in Ishgard, I soon realized I was not the only inventor promised space on the exploratory airship. I believed strongly in the importance of my plan, but my simple wood-and-cloth box looked downright amateurish compared to the other designs around me. Still, I presented my proposal with confidence and waited anxiously to learn if it was accepted.

[Warr_of_Lint]

Character: Meer’a Mihksa
World: Balmung
Item: Bluebird Earrings
Component: Airship Reverse-Siren Sonar (ARSS)

The song of the siren has lured many unsuspecting sailors to their doom; however, I had a theory that if I were to reverse its polarity, the song could guide ships to safety instead. When I heard about the dangers of airship travel, I knew it was time to make the ARSS a reality.

An old friend allowed me to peruse her notes for a means of containing the siren’s voice. Her assistants were invaluable in helping me find the information I needed. My friends could barely suppress their giggles when they asked where I pulled the idea of my ARSS from; I knew they felt as giddy as I did about this project.



I wish I could show you my old friend, but she graciously asked to remain anonymous. Despite her indispensable aid, she adamantly refused to accept any credit, or as she put it, “liability.”

While traveling to Pharos Sirius to slay the siren—blam!—a detective of “unique” wit literally fell out of the sky. I immediately sensed something great about him, but I must confess, it was not his intelligence that caught my attention.



It was his senseless, yet selfless, determination that truly impressed me. I informed him of my plans and he agreed to help, but I found myself tangled in his misadventures: a string of seemingly unrelated thefts, gang warfare between moogle crimelords, abductions by little green lalafell from the moon, and a murderous plot involving foot odor. After an older man in sunglasses—the only thing he wore aside from underpants—suplexed a train, things started getting weird. I’ll spare you the details, but we ended up saving Eorzea!

Almost forgot where this was going—we also captured the siren’s voice along the way.

Many horrendous fatalities occurred in the design phase, but everyone preemptively refused to let me dedicate my ARSS to their honor. I often cried because of their selfless efforts—that, and the fact that they met indescribably terrible ends. Eventually we solved the problem, which we determined was caused a stubborn crack on the bottom.



I stood in awe of the final prototype. The gorgeous appearance of my ARSS complimented the melodious tone it emitted. My old friend said she expects this to go about as well as her colleague’s attempt to summon a succubus. That sounds like an endorsement to me! It’s ready, get yours today!

[Chroma_Grey]

The desert is a harsh place, even on a good day. However, after hunting down a Sandworm that swallowed one of my minions, I ended up quite lost. Dawn has started to rise on a misty day and I found myself settling down next to a strange fellow. It was difficult to tell through the mist, but he seemed to be a bit of a stiff. Hesitant to speak to me at first, but after hearing of how I lost my way, he spoke of a tale he once heard. There once was of a compass that could learn all locations and weather, owned by a great king ages past. This tale peaked my interest. Noticing my interest the stranger said that only the one who knew of a "sense o' responsibility" could tell me more.



The words struck a chord within me. Where have I heard such words before? Going back to a place in my memories, I met with Rostnzeh gazing at a distant lighthouse. In a voice barely heard over the rain, he spoke of the stranger's tale when I inquired. The compass did exist, the Goldsmith's Guild have had records of it in their archives. There were even some scholars that believed it to be the origin of compasses today. Perhaps a trip to the Goldsmith's Guild would be worth the trip?



After speaking with the head of the Goldsmith's Guild and her odd mammet, I understood the difficulty with building such a device. The records were damaged due to age and neglect, but thankfully the Guild Master was up for the challenge. After getting the opinion of several locals and gathering some odd parts, everything was assembled, but nonfunctional. It seems that a vital stone was required to get everything balanced and separated, otherwise all the information acquired by the compass would interfere with itself. I was left with a single clue to find the vital stone component, barely legible on crumbling pages. "Where the glow dims, look to the eye left behind by the dark one. Just where could such a place be?



It seems to have been ages since I last crossed these waters, but as I step onto dry land I recall the words on the pages. Difficult to believe, but as I stumble on soft ground, I spot the "Eye". With only my instincts to guide me, I dug up the unassuming stone. When I place it in front of the Guild Master even she is skeptical, but the mammet urges her on. I can now only wait.

My heart weighs down as time passes. Yet! A yell of success! It truly seems the Guild Master earned her position, for sitting in front of her was the result of our efforts. A compass that will learn the path an airship flies and an indicator of what weather to expect. This compass truly is an "All Eye Compass".

~Chroma Szurke
-Cactuar World
-Bluebird Earrings

[Deli]

Char: Deli Denkryst
Server: Excalibur
Item: Scarf of Wondrous Wit
Component name: Fat Cat Balloon

Have you ever think what will be happening if we keep feeding out fat cat minion?

Introducing~~~ [Drum rolls]
Really really really really ~~~ Fat Cat! Let's just call it Extremely Fat Cat!




It is so fluffy and fat, so it can fly high in the air! So, hurry up and tight your airship to it's legs, or it will fly away. Since fat cat is so lazy and won't move, so fat cat won't mind you attach something to its legs and flying around... (as long as there is no cloud fishes around...)

It's very easy to get one. You just keep feeding the fat cat to the extreme and until it can float up! Not all the fishes works. only certain magical one will give you a flying fat cat. Summon your fat cat and go fish the cloud riders.


with the magical nutrition of the cloud riders in fat cat's belly, your fat cat will be fluffier and fluffier. Eventually, it can be catch the Aether Current and fly high and away.
also, due to the large amount of red balloon bait fat cat swallow together with the hooked cloud riders, Fat Cat Balloon can emit bright light from it's eyes at night/ bad weather to help ppl see clear...


Go fish at The Churning Mists while your Fat Cat summoned. Your fat cat will jump down while you hooked up a fish, and it will be disappear for a while. But, don't worry, once fat cat targeted a fish, it will never let it go. So, eventually you will be hooking up your fat cat back to the land again. However, you will lose the fish tho... (if it's the other "stuffs" hooked but not eatable, fat cat will just stay on the land...) get 100 Cloud riders for Fat Cat and the Fat Cat Balloon is yours.

Have a group of the FC fishers all join in! Let's get this Fat Cat Balloon already!

PSA! please don't ride fat cat balloon and idle... if you let the fat cat idle... it will flip over and demanding ppl pet its belly! Then, horrible things will be happening since the floater is now flipping...

So please be careful!