Re: A couple more things

I think a spaceport equiped with a permanent Reverse Gravity zone would be
an excellent thing for a port which trades with ships that aren't designed to
land.  This is especially useful for planets with such a high gravity that
normal helms aren't powerful enough to fight.  They are designed for
interplanetary travel but it is a great strain on the helm to land and
take off frequently.

Cargos go up with a mage with a Flight spell to keep it from drifting off
the Reverse Gravity and to help the rendevous.  Cargos descend by way of
very powerful Feather fall spells and a paraglider shape.

It would be a little tricky keeping a cargo shuttle centered on the Reverse
Gravity shaft, but the thing has no height limit.  I suppose you could have
little indicators on the wings to indicate which way the local gravity is.
Of course, such indicator would have to be isolated from the wind.  Perhaps
wires could cause an automatic trim adjustment if the shuttle started to
stray.  Having the drive separate from the ship saves enormously on the
costs of accidents, a lost cargo shuttle is cheap compared to the loss of
helm and helmsman.

Further, such a device is quite useful in defense.  Launch a whole bunch
of bombardier gliders that climb to 2000', glide over enemy lines, drop
bombs, and glide with a much improved glide ratio back to port.  Groundling
empires, with their large material, but not necessarily magical resources
would love such a system.

It would also be useful for defending space colonies which can't afford to
tie up a Spelljammer for aerial defense and patrols, not to mention allowing
very large space forts to be contructed relatively cheaply.

Now, putting a Reverse Gravity beam on a ship is more complicated.  If the
ship rotates, so does the 'reverse gravity of unlimited height field'.
how does this field interact with other ships?  Do its decks suddenly
repel instead of attract?

Michael Sandy