A key element in the second module is the former traders turned slavers - the Sandvoyagers' Guild.
They have these ships that sail in the deserts on sled runners - somewhat like the ice boats in some old Dragonlance novel if I remember correctly.
However, the module is somewhat vague about how sailing on sand is possible. The Sandvoyagers' can sail on the Glass Sea - a huge area of sand that magically melted into smooth glass - with special skates mounted on the hull.
But to sail on the rolling dunes of sand won't there be so much friction that wind alone is not enough? Will the ships need pulling by cammels, mules or horses?
I really like the idea of the Sandvoyagers' ships but since they are not magical I need to figure out the physics of such sailing.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!!
:-) Jesper
Or, if your players aren't that familiar with Ylarum, you could just drop the Glass Sea in somewhere remote, and they or the PCs probably wouldn't notice the difference. ;)
Realistically speaking though, it probably cant be done. That leaves you with the following options:
1) Tweaked reality: Oh, well it is Mystara so it works here, just don't ask how!
2) They are magical vessels afterall
3) Magic is used in the manifacturing of the vessels, making their components into unique materials. But the vessels themselves aren't magical.
I'm curious to hearing other ideas for this. I *have* to introduce these in my campaign somehow!
Håvard
Here's a website that might give you some ideas: http://www.physicsoflandsailing.com/
Offhand I'd imagine flatboats of some sort (maybe obsidian bottoms, to get that "glassy" frictionless effect?) which would sail pretty well downhill, and might do okay with strong winds. They might have to be powered by controlled air elementals or controlled winds (desert druids or wizards or something would be influential in this culture, I'd guess).
Dunno if that would work, necessarily, though. Especially with the loads they might be carrying, but who knows?
Seems I have mixed two different boats up. The ones travelling through the desert sand are called Sand Sleds and they move on sled runners. There is no indication whether they use sails or draft animals although in the description of its tracks only the sled runners' tracks and no animal tracks are mentioned.
The other type of boats are the Cloudskates a.k.a. Skyships. They travel on the Skysea, an ocean of glass. In the module "The Lost Tomb of Martek" it says:
"This is a sea of glass. Its surface is almost perfectly
smooth, worn down by the winds and sand. The glass averages
10 feet deep and is very hard. It will not crack, but small random
pieces can be chipped from its surface. Fire heats the glass but
does not damage it. The bottom surface of the glass is very
reflective. The sky above the glass can be seen reflected in the
glass. The air above the Skysea is heated by the reflected
desert sun. Any character looking down into the glass will see
himself in it.
All movement on the Skysea is at half the normal rate. During
the daytime, characters on the glass will take 1 point of damage
per round from the scorching heat and light for every 10
feet they are from the shore. For example, a character walking
30 feet from the shore will take 3 points of damage every round.
There is a maximum of 10 points of this damage per round.
Characters do not start taking damage until ½ hour after sunrise.
During daylight hours on the Skysea there is a 10% chance per round of stepping into a hot spot. Hot spots move randomly as the sun moves across the sky. Hot spots stay in the same place for only three turns. There is a 10% chance per turn that a hot spot will move onto any character that is not moving. Characters in a hot spot will take 2-40 (2d20) extra pointsof damage per round they remain in the hot spot. Characters may save vs. Breath Weapons for ½ damage.
The Skysea is the result of a great magical fire that burned out of control many centuries ago. The fire melted and fused the desert sands into this hard, mirror-like glass. Cloudskates were developed to travel on the Skysea during the
day.
A Cloudskate, also known anciently as a Skyship. These craft can be used to cross the sea of glass at a rate of 1 hex every 2 hours during the night or 2 hexes every hour during the day. The base absorbs the heat from the mirrored glass and converts its energy to a magical glowing force between the runners. This lifts the ship 3 inches off the glass. The rudder is studded with diamonds on its edge to cut into the glass to steer the ship. The sail also converts the Skysea heat into movement. Anyone riding in a cloudskate during the day will feel very hot, almost scorching, but will not take any damage so long as he stays in the ship".
So, the Cloudskates or Skyships are partially magic (having been created in an era of wealth and prosperity) and have diamond rudders. The heat from the Skysea (named so because the blue sky and clouds reflects in its surface, making ships appear to sail in the clouds) fills its sails and provides propulsion.
I think I am going to toy around some more with the idea semi-enchanted hulls or sled runners for the sand sleds as well and maybe some desert druids or wizards hired by the Sandvoyagers' Guild to provide ekstra propulsion across the sand dunes.
For shipping large amounts of caravan cargo it seems to me the sand sleds must be very spacious and probably relatively slow moving?
:-) Jesper
In a campaign that I ran many years ago I decided that the Skysea was located in the vicinity of forgotten Nithia. It was the Immortal fury at the Nithian Empire that turned the land into one vast sheet of glass.
Regards and Best Wishes,
Donald Eric Kesler