Imaskari Skyship (3.5e Equipment)
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Imaskari Skyship: Recently, mages using powerful magic to travel beneath the sands of the Raurin Desert to search Imaskari ruins have found some interesting artifacts from ages past. Previously thought to have been an invention of the mighty Netherese empire, some rather compelling new evidence suggests that skyships may in fact have been brought to Netheril by a reclusive Imaskari archmage. The secret of their creation was supposed to die with this nameless wizard, but a botched speak with dead spell cast by a greedy rival after the former's death led to the current version of skyship now so common in Halruaa. However, some of these exploring mages have not only recovered and restored several skyships of Imaskari origin, but they have managed to reproduce them.
They are of a simpler design than the "modern" skyships, of which the knowledge of their creation came from a renegade Halruaan wizard, and allow less-experienced mages to create highly effective - if expensive - transportation devices. Even so, they are still cheaper than traditional skyships. Rather than enchant an entire ship, ten magically-treated plates from dragon turtle shells are individually imbued with the ability to fly and then fitted onto any ship of Huge size or larger (it always requires ten plates, however). Theoretically, one could simply enchant a single plate and float about, but that would be silly. The energy of these ten plates, once enchanted and properly affixed to a ship, is then bound to a special obsidian helm (the ship's steering wheel), which is in turn linked to a control device (usually a bracelet, amulet or intricate gold disc), without which the ship cannot function. The destruction of the obsidian helm causes the power of the ship to fade over 1d4 days, but can be restored with the addition of a new helm. Due to the malleable nature of their control scheme, the considerable number crafted by an archmage paranoid about facing loss and the loose tongue of an adventuring mage drunken in celebration of "the greatest discovery of this generation," the secret of their creation has spread from a small cabal of arcane relic hunters to every wealthy, mid-level mage from the Shining Lands east of the Shaar to all the countries of the Sea of Fallen Stars, including Thay.
Piloting an Imaskari skyship is somewhat difficult. Firstly, one must become attuned to it by holding the control device for one minute, then make a DC 20 Will save. If this fails, the potential pilot cannot attempt to become attuned again for 1d6 hours. Once the save succeeds, that individual alone may control the skyship until another creature is attuned to the device. Anyone attempting to attune themselves while another is in control of the ship only face a DC 10 Will save, on which they also gain a +2 bonus if they are on the ship at the time. They must wait 1 day on a failed attunement attempt to try again, however. Once control has been achieved, the pilot may command the ship to ascend or descend at a speed of 45 feet, after which its speed is dependent upon the wind speed. A typical Imaskari skyship moves at 30 feet per round in light wind, 60 in moderate and 90 in strong wind. Otherwise, it simply hovers and looks quite odd without an adequate wind source. Refer to Stormwrack for detailed information on ships and suchlike, and pages 51 and 56 of Shining South for info on skyships and the spell that makes them possible.
As an Imaskari skyship is essentially a collection of magic items working in concert and held together by the ship itself, crafting information is tracked by individual plates.
Strong Transmutation;CL 7th; Craft Wondrous Item, Suspension (SS, pg. 51); Cost 28,000 gp, 1120 XP, 28 Days -- 280,000 gp, 11,200 XP, 280 Days for the whole ship; Activation: Continuous; Weight: 20 tons lb.; Market Price: 280,000 gp
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