If you have air ships in your campaign, how do they stay aloft?

Are they air filled zeppelin like? Are they mounted on flying beasts? Are they carried upon air elementals? Are the hulls magically enchanted to float? 

I might add some to my game and I need ideas.

THANKS!

If you want, you can check out the airships from Eberron: https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/erftlw/building-eberron-adventures-the-last-war#LyrandarAirship

Those are kept aloft by being made of Soarwood, and then propelled by by a bound Air Elemental, magically controlled by someone with the Mark of Storm and the appropriate magic items.

When I hear Airship i think zeppelin

Airships exist in the Forgotten Realms, too.  They're primarily powered by magic but do usually have a gas bag on top like a dirigible.

Are they Led Zeppelins?

Well, there's probably some heavy metal used in their construction.

I dont think you got the reference...

What do you want me to do, fly to Kashmir?

Google

• Ravnica MtG
• Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica
• Izzet League
• Eberron (as mentioned)

Refine the search for airships specifically and you'll find all you need for airships. If you have GGtR or Eberron official 5e books - you're golden.

Also the Battle Balloon in Acquisitions Incorporated.  🎈

For my own stuff, I typically go for a quadcopterish design.  Two of my favorites (though possibly because I liked the campaign) that others did have been a sailing ship with magical levitation stones or effectively zeplins with a ship hull suspended from a balloon.

Several ways to do it.  In Exandria, the airships have giant magic crystals that allow them to float and control their direction.  In Eberron you have large rings surrounding the ships that an air elemental is bound into.  Spelljammer?  But, that's the cool thing about it all... if you think of something... make it so!  So they used Khyber crystals for "Sun Swords" on some planets... here they are used to fuel Pirate Ships from Treasure Planet!  Maybe they have to be contained in a magnetic sphere.  Maybe they have to be bathed in the four elements at the same time to achieve the lofty heights of renown.  Perhaps they just need True Love to power the Fwying Schwip of Mawwiage... 

Hmm... maybe I need to switch to decaf this morning... I think I'm already tasting colors....

Quote from Grayfax >>

Several ways to do it.  In Exandria, the airships have giant magic crystals that allow them to float and control their direction.  In Eberron you have large rings surrounding the ships that an air elemental is bound into.  Spelljammer?  But, that's the cool thing about it all... if you think of something... make it so!  So they used Khyber crystals for "Sun Swords" on some planets... here they are used to fuel Pirate Ships from Treasure Planet!  Maybe they have to be contained in a magnetic sphere.  Maybe they have to be bathed in the four elements at the same time to achieve the lofty heights of renown.  Perhaps they just need True Love to power the Fwying Schwip of Mawwiage... 

Hmm... maybe I need to switch to decaf this morning... I think I'm already tasting colors....

 Don't forget pixie dust and believing that the ship can fly.

Quote from I_Love_Tarrasques >>

I dont think you got the reference...

 They got it, hence their “heavy metal in their construction” line, followed by a direct reference to the title of a song.

Quote from IamSposta >>

Quote from I_Love_Tarrasques >>

I dont think you got the reference...

 They got it, hence their “heavy metal in their construction” line, followed by a direct reference to the title of a song.

 Yeah I realized that after their next line...

Quote from Lunali >>

Quote from Grayfax >>

Several ways to do it.  In Exandria, the airships have giant magic crystals that allow them to float and control their direction.  In Eberron you have large rings surrounding the ships that an air elemental is bound into.  Spelljammer?  But, that's the cool thing about it all... if you think of something... make it so!  So they used Khyber crystals for "Sun Swords" on some planets... here they are used to fuel Pirate Ships from Treasure Planet!  Maybe they have to be contained in a magnetic sphere.  Maybe they have to be bathed in the four elements at the same time to achieve the lofty heights of renown.  Perhaps they just need True Love to power the Fwying Schwip of Mawwiage... 

Hmm... maybe I need to switch to decaf this morning... I think I'm already tasting colors....

 Don't forget pixie dust and believing that the ship can fly.

 Sure... the pixie dust spreader on the tilt-a-whirl... ha... and you're right.  There is always a way to do things macigally.  Though, now I'm picturing some poor soul milking pixies for dust... ... ... ... I'm not crying... you're crying!  What do you mean there's no crying in Tinker-ball!!!

Quote from Grayfax >>

 Sure... the pixie dust spreader on the tilt-a-whirl... ha... and you're right.  There is always a way to do things macigally.  Though, now I'm picturing some poor soul milking pixies for dust... ... ... ... I'm not crying... you're crying!  What do you mean there's no crying in Tinker-ball!!!

 At first I thought you said mixing pixies for dust, like Snowpiercer.

So far, I haven't seen anything that makes me really want to watch Snowpiercer... so... sorry... I don't know the reference... but mixing pixies for dust takes on a whole meaning.  You have to mix different pixies to get different properties in your magic dust?  Makes the genotype experiments we did in high school seem like child's play.  Do you breed for pixies that have more dust or more buoyancy? Do you breed with smaller particulats or is a denser mix stronger?  And now we've gotten into Pixie slavery and containment and forced breeding.  Or I guess you could pay them a living wage per pound of dust and mix it yourself afterwards, keeping track of who marries who in the Pixie Colony.  Either way, I don't think this is where we wanted to go with the Air Ship industry.  Which is why I like the "Magic Rock" theory.  No elementals or pixies were subjugated, coerced or taken advantage of in the making of the rocks... and mostly none of them were pets until later.

That's why I like the Zeppelin approach... Nobody gets harmed unless it's the Hindenburg.

And then you get a free casting of Meteor Swarm without using a spell slot.