Re: Blimps in space - a question

Catching up with some past emails.

> I had an idea and was drawing it out: blimps and dirigibles with
> spelljamming helms on board.  I drew up deck plans and was trying to work
> out some specs, and I wondered about the tonage. would you consider the
> airbag with the tonnage? It makes up most of the ship's size.
>
> I figure it would count for a dirigible, but since on a blimp could be
> deflated and put away like a sail, you would just consider it part of the
> rigging.

    I'd consider it part of the rigging, mainly because I don't see much
benefit of a blimp in space beyond added air.  In fact, the blimp itself
would be a huge hindrence to combat, basically blocking most of the arcs of
fire, blimps generally aren't all that fast or maneuverable, and the balloon
would be especially vulnerable to ramming attacks.  It might prove useful
for a long-range fleet to have a blimp as a support craft (lots of extra
air!) but in general the ship wouldn't be well-armed; let the other ships
handle that!

Adam