Airship Guide Addendum

This Lesson will cover stuff not included in the Airship Guide and is to be treated as, till further notice, a work in progress.

In the last area we covered building an airship, now let's cover purchasing an airship. First off you have several options when it comes to purchasing an airship.

Used Airship Market in South Axius: Located along the very southern tip of Axius is a Fort near the coastline. This Fort is an airship market place, where old airships, abandoned airships and salvage are located, found and sold for various prices. They'll sell to anyone but what you get can vary. When buying an airship, first take a design and then roll a dice to determine a few random odds.

Damocles Imperial Decommissioned Stockpile: This is the only legal avenue for purchasing a Damocles made airship and is open only to former officers of the Damocles Empire who stepped down in good standing. No one is shown the airships here, just they travel to an office on Canaris Island and look over images of the various airships found (Including all decommissioned Damocles models). An officer immediately gets a %15 discount added onto an age discount (Same as found above). Meaning if an officer wanted to purchase a ten year old airship, he would get a %35 discount.

Airship design has not been the same as it is now. Over time improvements and such have been made. The design eras, periods where one style of construction and design stood out, have been listed here according to the name they were given.

Verax Era
640-672 AD

This Era is not part of Damocles history, but it is part of airship history nevertheless. Thirty years before the Damocles Empire would start airship innovation with the Pigeon, the Verax Empire managed to create the first real airship. The Verax Empire then went forth and built and designed the type of airships Damocles would later build in the Pre-First War era. No airships of this era have been found or discovered, but if they were to be found then they would be more historical artifacts and relics, antiques and collectables to true Noblemen and collectors of such items. No airships of this era can be found on any open market, and the Verax markets are not open to Verdanians.

Pre-First War Era
673-686 AD

What began with the Pigeon would later end with the Victory. This Airship Era was when Damocles first began the airship research and design, with open deck airships with wooden hulls and wooden interior hulls. The bridge, magical weapons and shields, and all things that are considered magical technology was not even on the drawing board yet. Airships of this era were slow, but luxurious and represented an optimistic viewpoint many people had about the future and of the airships. Several different designs were made of this era, but all either civilian luxury liners, Air Ferries or Freighters using the propeller engine. No central bridge existed in this time, and no one really thought of using airships in a military manner. To many historians, this was considered the "Golden Age" of Airships, when innovation and tactical applications were terms both very far apart. When encountering an airship of this era, it will be bridge-less, have no thrusters or internal controls, a very basic Type 1 Core, and non-magical weapons such as ballista and catapults. All ships of this era are discounted by %40-60 when buying. No type of this can be built brand new, only bought used. The high discount is due to the sheer lack of demand for this airship type, and this is where many of the less wealthy airship owners prefer to buy their airships from as they can usually get them for cheap then renovate them. The Golden Age ended with the opening of the First Damocles-Shadow Knight War, and the release of the Defender class D.I.S. Victory.

First War Era
687-697 AD

With the launching of the D.I.S. Victory-A, airship design now entered a whole new frontier of magical technology. Bridges, Thrusters, Pulse Cannons, Torpedoes and every single major innovation in airship technology was made during this period as the Damocles Empire and the whole of Verdania found themselves at the mercy of the forces of the Shadow Knight Empire. The Damocles Imperial Military took over airship design, with all focus now entering into military and tactical weapons of war. The Defender, Imperial, Pegasus, Shadowrunner and Avenger classes got their start here, with the first three being the main ships used during the First War by Damocles. Axius, Dantania, Terangoth and nearly all of Verdania was given the secrets of the airships by Damocles, in hopes that those nations would build their own airship fleets and armadas and enter into the war against the Shadow Knight Empire. The Shadow Knight Empire, which managed to obtain basic airship diagrams during the Sirius-Shadow Knight conflict, also began their own airship R&D program. Achievements mounted quickly as Damocles and the SK were in a race to outdo each other. If Damocles released a Pulse Cannon, the SK countered with their own version. If the Shadow Knights developed a new torpedo type, Damocles would counter with a new shield innovation. Damocles built only a small few airship designs, but produced those to large quantities. The Defender class became the most produced airship design model of all time, as Norcon Yard was busy churning out new airships at record time and launching them into battle against Shadow Knight battleships and cruisers. Any airships found on the market of this period has low-grade technology, most likely has been in battle or seen action, and has a discount of %10-30 on the price. At the end of the First War, the Defender, Imperial and Pegasus lines were all decommissioned and several of these models can still be found today in the used markets.

Damocles Fleet Era
698-702 AD

Following the close of the First War, the Damocles Empire found itself with a surplus of old designs. While the Defender, Imperial and Pegasus had helped Damocles overcome the Shadow Knight Empire, newer designs and innovations as inspired by the Avenger class, better mana thrust engines, improved cores, and better control systems made the Damocles Imperial Fleet go back to the drawing boards and redesign the entire Fleet from scratch. All innovations of this time came from the Empire's rebuilding as well as technology gleamed from wrecked Shadow Knight ships. The full line of Defenders, Imperials and Pegasus were decommissioned and stockpiled and sold and Damocles went on to dominate all airship designs and improvements for this era till finally they found themselves put to the test once again. Airships of this period are the last ones to be given any type of discount, ranging from %5 to %10.

Damocles-Verax War Era
703-705 AD

The Damocles Empire and the Verax Empire finally clashed, as the open decked Damocles airships now encountered a new threat in the leaner, meaner closed-hull designs of the Verax. The Verax also had an innovation which amazed Damocles - The Fighter Craft. Damocles battleships such as the Devastator and Avenger found themselves at the mercy of swarms of Verax Fighter Crafts and with an entirely new challenge to face. The end of this era would see the death of any new open deck designs, as the closed hull designs would now arise to dominate all airship improvements and builds from this point onward.

Closed Hull Era 706-Present
As the Damocles Imperial Fleet found their airships scrambling to try and overcome Verax Fighters, those at DEC embraced the closed hull designs as well as the fighter craft innovation. This era is still ongoing, as all airships still follow the same design principles as discovered just after the close of the Damocles-Verax War.

Not every nation builds the same type of ship or even in the same manner. Some have certain criteria, others manage to get certain parts cheaper due to production or some other advantage unique to that nation. The information below is nation-specific and deals with production differences, cost differences and any advantages or disadvantages a nation has when building a ship. For example it may cost less for the Damocles Empire to build a Shadowrunner Mark 1 as opposed to a noble purchasing the ship or ordering a similar one built. That same ship may cost more if the Shadow Knights wanted to build it to the exact detail due to construction quality differences, cost of metals and technology and labor differences between Damocles and the Shadow Knight Empire and some civilian airship contractor.

	The Damocles Empire
Advantages (Note that Damocles is the benchmark for all technologies with the exception of Verax. Any major differences will be summed up in each national info page regarding Airships) 5% Reduction to Build Time: Due to the use of Constructor Ultimaxes, as well as enhancements at Damocles airship production facilities, the Empire can build ships much faster. Can use Era Price Reduction: Pre-FW Era 50% cost reduction, FW Era 20% cost reduction, DF Era %5 cost reduction Due to efficiency, gains 10% extra SU. However pays 10% higher in ship costs. 10% Cost Reduction on all other Components Rec Rooms can service twice as many. Crew Mess is Free Portal Generator is Free. Cost of ESD is reduced by %10 and cost of Trans-Planetary Portal Generator reduced by 750,000 silver. 25% Range increase on all Sensor Arrays 15% Cost Reduction on Shield Generators 5% Cost Reduction on Weapons. Additional Ship Ammunition is Free Due to Automation needs 5% less crew Can carry 5% more passengers. 10% Additional Ship Energy due to improved energy flow 50% Cost Reduction on C&C Crystal
Disadvantages Must use Damocles Weapons & Components Must have State Rooms for All officers, Engineers, Bridge Crew (6), Captain, First Officer and 2 Additional State Rooms/SC. Must have at least 1 Auxiliary & 1 Emergency Battery Crystal Must use Core Type as determined by Damocles Fleet. Must have Escape pods for Crew + Passengers. Must have Passenger Quarters to accommodate all Passengers. Must use pre-selected components as determined by Damocles Fleet. Self Destruct Requires Captain, 1st Officer & Chief Engineer to activate. 10% Increase in Armor Cost. Cannot use Telejump Drive or Gravimetric Drive due to safety restrictions. 10% Cost increase on all Sensor Arrays Landing Gear required

	The Shadow Knight Empire
Advantages 10% Reduction to Build Time 25% Reduction to Overall Ship Price Can use Era Price Reduction: Pre-FW Era 50% cost reduction, FW Era 20% cost reduction, DF Era %5 cost reduction Shields are 25% stronger Weapons are 25% stronger Armor is 50% Cheaper 25% Reduction to Hull/Frame Cost No Hull, Deck Design, # of Decks or Engine Type Limitations Daily Operating Cost doesn't apply. Real Rate determined for and paid by the SK Military. Free Ship Servicing & Repairs Portal Generator is Free. 10% Cost Reduction on Shield Generators 10% Cost Reduction on Weapons.
Disadvantages Must use Shadow Knight Weapons & Components Passenger capacity reduced by 75% Passenger Quarters can hold twice as more and cost 10% Less Crew Quarters can hold twice as more and cost 10% Less 25% chance of mutiny per month Cannot use State Rooms C&C Crystal costs twice as much Crew needed increase by 15% Self Destruct Requires Captain to activate. Cores 5% more expensive Components 10% more expensive Must use an Armor rating of at least 5. Turn Rate reduced by 1 Speed & Altitude reduced by 20% 15% less available core energy 10% Range reduction on all Sensor Arrays 20% Cost increase on all Sensor Arrays

	The Axius Kingdom
Advantages 15% Reduction to Overall Ship Price Can use Era Price Reduction: Pre-FW Era 50% cost reduction, FW Era 20% cost reduction, DF Era %5 cost reduction Hull/Frame Cost reduced by 10% Can Equip Non-Magical Weaponry Does not require a bridge Armor is 75% Cheaper Speed increased by 15% Turning Rate increased by 2 Altitude increased by 5% Telejump Drive is Free Using Hull Type 1 causes a 20% overall cost reduction Daily Operating Cost doesn't apply. Real Rate determined for and paid by the Axius Military. Free Ship Servicing & Repairs
Disadvantages 10% Increase to Build Time Cannot use Closed Deck Design Cannot use Fighters Cannot use ESD Controls are 10% more expensive Cannot exceed armor rating of 5 Components 5% more expensive Shields are 10% Less effective Weapons are 10% Less effective Shields are 10% more expensive Weapons are 10% more expensive Self Destruct Requires Captain & First Officer to activate. 5% Range reduction on all Sensor Arrays 5% Cost increase on all Sensor Arrays Portal Generator is 10% more expensive. Trans-Planetary is 50% more expensive.