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

[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

[Flairice]

Character name: Flairice Riloa
World name: Excalibur
In-game Item: Scarf of Wondrous Wit

Component name: The Crystal Hull

So I was laying around star gazing in Mor Dhona recently, soaking in the aether and debating the merits of specing VIT instead of STR on dragoon, when an airship flew overhead. It's metal hull glowed blue in the bright light of the crystals, and the idea hit me. Crystals are flowing with magic and stuff right? Imagine the flying power you could get out of a ship made entirely of solid glowing aether! It could also double as a floating disco party if I played my cards right.



So I set out to gather materials to make my own. Lots of crystals. So many crystals. Unaspected ones, deaspected ones, over-aspected ones, plain old elemental ones. I was going to blow my FC away with this beast of a ship.



With the materials all gathered, I swapped to Goldsmith and began to work.... until I realized that I had no idea what I was doing. I'm really just a rookie Goldsmith. Do you melt the crystals and mold them into a hull? Do crystals even melt? Would it be able to float on it's own? What kind of sail would I need to keep this thing in the air? What if it accidentally summons a primal?! Which primal would it even be?

Devastated and too proud to ask for advice, I sold all my gathered crystals at the markets and went back to dreaming on dragoon.



Maybe Eorzea just isn't ready for this kind of technology yet..

[AnemosUX]

Majestic Mog Forecastle

Character Name: Ernest Leuchte
World: Tonberry
Component Name: Majestic Mog Forecastle
In-game item: Mandragora Choker

Mix business with pleasure! Pamper yourselves with the luxurious and stylish Majestic Mog Forecastle fit for royals! This forecastle has a Pom-pom that serves as a weather detector, making it easy for adventurers to navigate through the harshest weather, making exploration an ease!

I first travelled to the deepest parts of the Twelveswood in order to obtain the first components.



After a gruelling battle, I snipped the Pom-pom off of Great King Moggle Mog XII.

And then, together with my bestie adventurer, we sneaked into the Sultana's treasuries to “borrow” an ample supply of Platinum, Gold, Rose Gold Ingots of the highest qualities, along with Garnets to complement the component. I’m sure Nanamo and Raubahn wouldn’t mind….. it is for Eorzea after all!



Finally, after obtaining all the necessary materials, I journeyed far to the Dravanian Hinterlands in order to enlist the help of prominent sage Matoya. With her enchantments, the Majestic Mog Forecastle is finally completed!

[Dreamer_Daze]

Character name: Dreamer Daze
World name: Tonberry
In-game Item: Mandragora Choker

Component name: Magitek Rocket Blaster

With the exploratory voyages being added into the system, airships no longer need to be just fast and good but also furious. As such, I'm proposing to add in a rigging that will both increase the speed for a quick getaway from sticky situations and can also turn into a weapon when combat is necessary.

In order to get my first rigging component, I’ve ventured into The Keeper of the Lake to seek out the 2nd boss - Magitek Gunship. As we all know, this ship has got a strong flying ability due to it being powered by magitek and it is able to deal massive aoe fire damage to the enemy should there be a need for combat. I took the remnants of the destroyed magitek airship and plan to infuse it into my rigging.



Since the science of the magitek airship will be infused to the rigging, we might fire attack at hostile targets when required. The last thing we need is for the rigging to catch fire and fall apart. As such, we will require a material that can withstand high heat. While I was exploring the Churning Mist, I came across this ferocious fire breathing monster call the Blood Dragons and I thought to myself “if its leather can withstand the heat of its breathe, its leather can be a valuable component to my rigging”.



As this rigging is both a weapon and a rigging, I’ve chosen to create it using my blacksmith tool. Since the items required to make this rigging is highly flammable (look at the fire when I’m crafting), I’ve chosen not to do it in our workshop, but to do it in Ul’dah since the floor is concrete and I’ll most probably not start a fire. But still, I think I might be too attention-grabbing. Look, it’s another guy bewildered by my genius creation.

[ElricTyrath]

Character Name: Elric Tyrath
World Name: Midgardsormr
In-game Item: Scarf of Wondrous Wit

Component Name: Gordian Oppressor Jet Thrusters Mk.I

As soon as I started working on Airships with my Free Company my mind immediately went to speed, I wanted us to go fast to beat out anyone else to the island and explore faster (Those exploration times aren't anything to joke about!) And as I looked brainstormed idea after idea my mind went back to the giant metal hulk that was the Oppressor. That machine had a jet engine strong enough to push itself off the ground, and weighed enough that when it came back down the shockwave would destroy even our tankiest tank if he was too close, so in other words, the jet had to be quite powerful!


First things first, I had to gather my party and fell the great machines. The hardest part was making sure our attacks didn't damage the thrusters.


After acquiring the Jet Thrusters from both the Oppressor and Oppressor .5, we had to haul the now significantly lighter (as it has been detached from the rest of the body) machinery back to my Free Company's workshop where our master crafters and I worked on how to get it attached to our airship and get a list of needed materials ready.


60 HQ Mythril Ore, 300 HQ Mythrite Sand, and 60 HQ Mythrite Ore we finally had the 60 HQ Mythrite Ingots we needed to attach these beasts. The first thought was to use Darksteel, but we didn't want to use such a heavy weight metal as it would just slow us down that much more!


A few test runs later and It's safe for me to say we are going faster than anything else I've seen! We've also found that the Oppressor's Self-Destruct feature comes from these thrusters and can be initiated if for some reason you need to destroy your airship, perhaps if some pirates try to steal it! Do be careful around the switch.

[Siren]

Character Name: Reika Nikaidoh
World Name: Excalibur
In-game Item: Scarf of wondrous Wit
Component Name: Airship Emergency Air and Water Devices

As I wandered around Eorzea I noticed there has been a great influx of airships as of late and always being the saviour type, it occurred to me that while they might make getting around easier they are in fact not safe at all. Engines could heat up and start a fire or the canvas balloon could get punctured sending the unlucky occupants crashing to the ground. Something had to be done to make them safer!
After Much thinking it came to me, even if they could get the Balloon patched up, they would still need to refill it and for that you need Air....Wind and if anyone knows anything about wind, it was Garuda. She was going to show me where to get the best wind aspected crystals going.



With the Balloon problems taken care of that left me to deal with possible engine fires which on an airship could get very serious very fast. We needed a way to put out fires fast and there was only one obvious direction to go, good ol' water and I knew the obvious one to see about that...



I thought my emergency plans had been finished but as I was talking to Minfilia 1 day I came to realize even after all my precautions a airship could still come crashing down, I needed Airbags!



So back to the drawing Board I went.

[Jabeo]

Heavensclaw

Character name: Jabeo Plummer
World name: Midgardsormr
In-game Item: Scarf of Wondrous Wit

Component name: Heavensclaw

The wheel has been trued. Once an afflicted magitek menace, this multifunctional work of Garlean technology will make a great addition on any exploratory voyage. Want to gather in peace as a Disciple of the Land? No problem, nuisances can talk to the hand or get shred up. Discovered a powerful monster that is giving you trouble? Deploy with the proper counter set and watch as your enemy destroys itself. Or perhaps you simply want an easy way to load all of your shiny new loot into the cargo hold of your airship. Well, look no further, for Heavensclaw can do all this and more!

Research for this project began through conversation with the local hunter-scholar. Armed with information on a malfunctioning magitek weapon, I set out in search of my mark.


Tracked and in sight, I approached with the stealth for which ninjas are famed. My intent was to disable while causing as little damage as possible. Thus, I closed in on the location of the machina’s servomechanism and in one deft move released the magitek core from the housing chamber.

Success!

Powered down and rendered harmless, I transported my quarry back to my workshop in Mist and prepared for a trip to visit the Goldsmiths’ Guild in Ul’dah.


I shared my plans for repair and solicited Serendipity for advice. It was concluded that I should attempt a method devised by Garlond Ironworks, that being to replace the core with a mammet’s heart, albeit using materials of my own making this time instead of a guild supplied heart.

With plan in hand it was time to return to my workshop and hammer out the details of this development.


Tucked into a cozy corner of the workshop, brow furrowed in concentration, I put all of my focus into shaping a flawless mammet heart made from the finest aurum regis. Recalling how a cylinder made from the same metal had a pronounced effect on the ever onerous automaton Gigi, all that was left was to slot in my substitute for the core and hope for similar results.

I carefully loaded the heart into the housing unit and stepped back a few yalms. At first nothing happened. Then, just as I was beginning to get dismayed that this had all been for naught, I heard the gentle hum of the fans as they whirred to life and power was restored. It worked, it was alive! That moment of joy quickly turned to caution when I remembered what I was dealing with and that I may be assaulted at any moment. However, no attack came. It just sat there, obediently, waiting for orders.

[Marcellus]

Character name: Marcellus Guillory
World name: Midgardsormr
In-game Item: Scarf of Wondrous Wit

Component name: Koga Cloaking Device

These days, Eorzea's airship-filled skies are a veritable hotbed of hazards, what with the dragons, the Garleans, and Thaliak knows what other horrors. And how better to avoid these perilous pitfalls than to stay out of sight altogether? If airborne discretion is your desire, I give you ... the Koga Cloaking Device!

In conjuring up this component, I thought first to consult the masters of misdirection themselves, the Rogues of Limsa Lominsa.



Jacke welcomed me, and we shared a drink as I explained my visit. It was in short order that he suggested I "shake the cobwebs from me 'ead." The Rogues' tricks were much too subtle for something so cumbersome as an entire airship, said he, and he proposed instead that I look to the Rogues' sister art ... that of the Ninja.

"That Oboro owes me," said Jacke. "Nice enough cove, but 'e's rotten at Triple Triad."

So I ventured northward to an unremarkable warehouse on the bank of the Agelyss River, and uttered a pass-phrase (which here I shall, in good faith, omit). I entered to find that the man at the head of the room had been apprised of my intent.

"You wish to render an airship invisible," he said. "I have what you seek."

He pointed to an over-sized shuriken embedded in a sparring dummy.



"This mudra-enhanced shuriken will, when met with the aetheric issuance of an airship engine, generate a broad field that bends the very light around it."

He plucked the shuriken from the dummy, and offered it to me. I took it carefully, studying the sharpened points with wonder.

Oboro continued. "To all but the most practiced observer, it will be as though he gazes upon nothing but air. It is the same used in all Doman airships."

I was struck with his words. "Doman airships?" I repeated. "Your tale echoes tall, sir. I have ventured far and farther in this world and have never once seen a Doman airship."

At this, Oboro smirked. With two fingers, he beckoned me follow him through a disguised rear door in the warehouse. We emerged at a precipice overlooking Wineport. Oboro simply gazed silently ahead. I followed his eyes, unsure of our purpose, until I saw the tiniest flicker in the sky before us.



"No," said Oboro. "I should think not."

[Supermerlion]

Character name: Nana Su
World name: Tonberry
In-game Item: Bluebird Earrings

Component name: Aetheryte Dandelion Cargo Trailer

Rumors are abound of the opening of fantastic new lands in the clouds rich in resources and treasures ripe for picking. Exploratory missions they call it.

With dreams of glory and fortune adventurers everywhere are in a hurry to prepare their company airships with the finest components from materials Eorzea could offer.

But while the rest scurry to improve the maneuverability and integrity of their airships, I scoured the land for that which really mattered, a means to bring home all that treasure!



The eureka moment came when I chanced upon the Slyphs and their remarkable cottages.

While somewhat primitive, the Beast Tribe structures were sturdy, yet so incredibly lightweight they could be suspended from the Twelveswood with mere vines. With adventurers stowing away on our ships, there was barely any room for cargo. But surely, with a trailer made from such a material we could easily haul back all the treasure we wanted.

Unfortunately, not even the Slyphs knew the source of the scarce spherical material which formed their homes. Apparently, they believed them to be gifts from the heavens.

Not one to give up. I searched the lands of Hydaelyn for the source of this material. Only to eventually find it in her skies.



The source, was none other than the Churning Mists, the original home of another of the Twelveswood's races.

From consulting with the acquainted Moogles whom made their home nearby, I learned that these "Aetheryte Dandelions" were formed from concentrated wind aspected Aether. Fully formed mature flowers lose much of their aspect and float off down to the earth below, no doubt to be chanced upon by the Slyphic ones.

Sadly, with our maiden voyage just days away, I had not the time to wait for a dandelion to mature. Instead, we just had to make do with the best one for now.

To fill out the gaps and complete the cargo sphere, I returned to the lands of La Noscea where a lost city familiar to scholars held a veritable treasure-trove of wind aspected crystals, though I was warned of the somewhat volatile nature of the crystals here. Alas, some risks must be taken in the name of adventure, and riches.

With all the materials in hand, and a little help from the Free Company's alchemists, we synthesized what might literally be the first lighter than air airship trailer, ready to tow back all the actual treasures we find in our new skyward explorations.

[Kesari]

Character name: Kesari Soulfury
World name: Midgardsormr
In-game Item: Mandragora Choker

Component name: Mammet #435thetician

I am a Hero of the Realm, Warrior of Light, Gentlewoman Extraordinaire. Tales of my deeds are told far and wide. I am a very busy woman, and I have an image to uphold.

My adventures have carried me to all edges of the realm, through the aether, on chocoback, ship, and airship. Always, I have taken great pains to ensure my appearance remains impeccable, but some modes of transport can cause rather more … dishevelment … than others. I don’t always have time to run to the inn for an appointment with Jandelaine, which has, at times, made me quite the laughingstock.



Go to any tavern my fellow adventurers frequent, and you will hear many of the same complaints, particularly as our tasks require much more frequent use of airships of late.

Our tales of shame, however, shall soon be history.

After joking with Jandelaine about turning him into a face-saving machine during one of our rushed sessions (squashed between a rather turbulent airship ride and a meeting with none other than Kan-E Senna herself), I began thinking. While the crystal bells found in inn rooms cannot function on traveling airships, perhaps a mammet could be fashioned to help tidy adventurers’ appearances just before we disembark.

During a brief layover in Ul’dah, I stopped by the Goldsmiths’ Guild to chat with Serendipity. She loved the idea, and, together, we immediately got to work.



A few rather interesting misadventures later, we discovered that Gigi had disappeared. I hurried away to track him down. The citizens of Ul’dah pointed me along the path of the wayward mammet, and I eventually found him in my very own inn room!

How he got Otopa Pottopa to let him in, I shall never know, but Gigi was there with Jandelaine and another mammet, fussing with a number of gadgets giving off a strong aetheric signature. In short order, they had not only trained the new Mammet #435thetician, but created a special summoning bell, with the express function of teleporting mammets from airship to airship.

Now, I need not fear the spectacle of arriving to urgent meetings with various leaders of nations looking as if a whole flock of chocobo chicks have nested in my hair, and Jandelaine shall be able to take a much-deserved break.