Re: SPELLJAMMER Art

(had to cut your post out because the server was rejecting my reply due to
length, sorry!)

Oh yeah those ships had extremely cramped conditions, but, the average
height then because of poor food etc was iirc about 5'3"...now, I assume
that like the Celts etc, better food etc means that most fantasy settings
for D&D folk are tall say 6"  those cramped conditions become untenable
EXCEPT for storage/sleeping. I bet modern submarines have *extremely*
exhaustive designs to help make them more comfortable for the crew's well
being and ease of operation, cramped, but efficient, where as old sailing
ships were an on going trial and error process where they didn't have
ergonomics ;)

Tradesman I think would be a tubby cargo hauler rather than the sleek ship
the SJ cards showed, when you look at real trading ships they were "tubby"
because they wanted the most cargo, in a stable ship, they weren't bothered
by speed etc (apart from clippers which is another matter) also, ships were
designed to make maximum use of volume since many ports charged port fees
based on keel length and breadth of deck, which is why cargo ships often had
a huge sloping "tumblehome", iirc, i.e. the decks were narrower than the
main belly of the ship, so they got charged less as port officials could
only measure deck width ;)

I know the helm itself is probably not big, but, in effect it would be
regarded like a holy altar, it is a true icon of the ship, not merely a
chair! For non-technological folk, it would be probably sacrilegious,
extremely unlucky NOT to have the helm in a venerated position/room etc if
see what I mean? Plus only spell casters can use it and they are a weird
bunch, hehe :)

You have to remember Nelson fought hard for change the men WERE badly
treated, horribly so at times, varying on the captain they served under,
which was the big problem, and what Nelson fought to change. Since captains
had absolute power, if the captain was a brute, his crew suffered and could
do nothing about it. And civilians of the time lived in absolutely hellish
conditions, London circa 1700 to 1800 was a true hell hole for the ordinary
folk :( To escape to army or navy often could be a better life.

I agree that death helms and the like should be bigger, hence the pic I did
of one it's a far more ornate and macabre, sinister object.

Yeah we can't be too rational about SJ, hehe, so having ships with grav
planes set by their design is a good idea.

What I do is try to make the external design as per the original
illustrations as that's more important, though with alterations as need, and
try to fit in the size according to a blend of the stated length, checking
the Actual deck plan sizes and getting a rough approximation. Then I look at
the final hull I create, and work out the practical way the decks can be
laid out, because some times, the actual deckplans simply cannot work..and
artistic license and the fact that ship design wouldn't be static, not
clones of each other ;)

I'm not a good original designer I'm afraid :( I love making 3d versions of
the originals but I doubt I could do an original design..and it takes a
month usually to make a ship or more. I can make deckplans from my models as
they are exact scale, and have done so for squidship and death spider and
will try doing so for the rest.

If the community wants I can try and make the Tradesman more like the
original, just means a lot of re-work, lol.

The Nautiloid has GOT to be a battleship by its deckplans as it's ENORMOUS
in deckplans, but illustration is small, I agree with NightDruid two classes
of same ship: battleship and scout

Mind flayers need food and docile slaves, so packing them in as per the
horrid slave trade circa 1600-1800s would be bad, they'd make themselves
sick or lose too many slaves AND lose valuable mind controlled servants used
in battle. However, I do think they'd be able to put some slaves in
suspended animation, psionically and thus have some "packed in" as bulk
food, lol!



Good discussion this :) 
-----------------------------------------------------------
I'd rather be a Fool who believes in Dragons,
Than a King who believes in Nothing.
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www.silverblades-suitcase.com
 

-----Original Message-----
From: Spelljammer Setting Discussion
[mailto:SPELLJAMMER-L@??????.???????.com] On Behalf Of David Shepheard
Sent: 04 January 2007 14:23
To: SPELLJAMMER-L@??????.???????.com
Subject: Re: [SPELLJAMMER] SPELLJAMMER Art

From: "Charles Sykora" <charlesdsykora@???.com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 03, 2007 5:22 PM

 

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