Storm King's Thunder

The airship’s enormous balloon is made from dragon hide that has been dyed bright red. Atop the balloon is a crow’s nest that is reached by crawling up the ropes on the outside of the balloon. Crawling up the ropes requires a DC 10 Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. 

The balloon is roped to a gondola that has been fitted with steel runners. The airship has a speed of 8 miles per hour while skiing across ice or snow or flying in the air. A strong headwind reduces the ship’s speed to 4 mph, while a strong tailwind increases its speed to 12 mph. By changing altitude, the ship can use air currents to move in a particular direction. A propeller aft of the gondola thrusts the ship forward and can also be pivoted. The hull of the gondola is watertight and buoyant in water, and the propeller can push it across water.

The airship can hold up to 1 ton of cargo and requires a crew of two, one to operate the propeller and one to operate the furnace. 

1. Furnace

In the middle of the upper deck is a 10-foot-tall, cylindrical bronze furnace with a fire elemental magically trapped inside it. A narrow hatch in the front of the furnace has a small grill through which the elemental can be seen, and the heat pouring out through the grill helps keep the deck crew warm on cold days and nights. An iron wheel on the starboard side of the furnace opens and closes a bronze valve at the top of the cylinder, which has the effect of increasing or reducing the size of the fire spilling out of the furnace. The more heat that is allowed to fill the balloon, the higher the ship can rise.

2. Harpoon Gun

A spring-loaded harpoon gun, fashioned from burnished bronze with iron fittings, is bolted to the forward upper deck. It has a 90-degree arc of fire (side to side, as well as up and down). The gun comes with a winch, a 500-foot coil of rope, and ten steel-tipped harpoons. The harpoon gun is considered a ballista (see DMG chapter 8).

Tying a rope to a harpoon, if desired, takes an action. In addition to dealing 16 (3d10) piercing damage on a hit, a harpoon impales its target. While impaled, the target can’t take any action on its turn other than trying to free itself from the harpoon, which requires a successful DC 15 Strength check. If the check succeeds, the target takes 5 (1d10) piercing damage as the harpoon is pulled free and is no longer impaled. If a harpoon is attached to the gun by a rope, a creature impaled on that harpoon can’t move farther away from the gun or increase its altitude until it frees itself. A creature within reach of the gun’s winch can use its action to reel in a harpooned creature, pulling it up to 20 feet closer to the gun.

3. Ballista

A wooden ballista is mounted on an iron swivel on the aft castle. It has a 90-degree arc of fire (side to side, and up and down). Behind it rests a crate that holds a dozen bolts. For ballista rules, see the “Siege Equipment” section in chapter 8 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide.

4. Propeller Hatch

A wooden door behind the furnace (area 1) on the upper deck pushes open to reveal stairs leading down to the lower deck. Portholes on the landings look out to port and starboard. The porthole windows are latched shut from the inside, and each porthole is wide enough for a Medium creature to squeeze through.

At the foot of the stairs is a steel hatch bolted shut from the outside, with two horizontal-sliding iron levers in the adjacent wall. One lever is labeled Thrust, the other Direction (in Common). Behind the hatch is a steel-walled compartment that holds a magically bound air elemental. The air elemental powers the aft propeller. Moving the Thrust lever to the left opens valves that allow wind from the elemental to spin the propeller. Moving the lever to the right closes the valves, and the propeller stops turning. Moving the Direction lever to the left or right causes the propeller to pivot in that direction, allowing the ship to turn while the propeller is operating. When the Direction lever is centered, the propeller moves the vessel straight ahead. 

5. Crew Quarters

Each of these cabins has a door that can be bolted shut from the inside, though none of the doors is locked normally. A door can be broken open with a successful DC 13 Strength (Athletics) check. Each cabin contains two hammocks (one above the other), a writing desk, a chair, a footlocker, and a porthole. The portholes’ windows are latched shut from the inside, each set in a frame wide enough for a Medium creature to squeeze through.

Each footlocker has a partition that divides its interior space in half, with room on each side for one person’s clothing and personal effects. Atop each desk are a sturdy lamp and a game (Dragonchess set, playing cards, etc).

6. Storeroom

This room is packed to the ceiling with crates of rations, barrels of fresh water, and casks of dwarven ale and fine elven wine — enough food to feed ten people for 100 days. Nets secured to iron rings bolted into the walls prevent the containers from moving around. 

Many of the containers in the storeroom bear the names and emblems of various previous owners.