Art above from the Crios RPG
As I have been working hard on the final little tweaks and edits for LIGAMENTS’ upcoming revision (coming very soon), my sleep schedule has gotten pretty wacky. This, as it usually does, led me down a strange mental rabbit-hole. Enjoy the fruits of my turmoil, and please keep an eye out for some exciting news.
A biplane made of Saltwick root and quality Winsburg-made cloth. Its eight spider-like legs seem to gallop through the air as it flies, like a Strandbeest, with the wind under-wing providing momentum. They offer a good (enough) pace for take off and landing, without the need for wheels, runways, or general airline infrastructure. I mean who has time for that anyway, right?
Like it says above, the bulk of the plane is made of extremely lightweight and durable driftwood that breaks off mangrove trees, called Saltwick. They float offshore into the southern gulf and continue to grow into wide ovular nets of natural root and branch, feeding off the critters that get caught inside. Because of this, natural Saltwick has rings of white inside showing its growth over the years, but also small bones, scales and feathers trapped forever under its gnarled flesh. With some sturdy cloth, the body of the plane is flexible, yet rigid.
The front propeller boasts a gorgeous (and valuable) sunstone. Cut into the apple-sized gemstone are whirling grooves which mesh to Immutable Bronze gears. Due to its odd makeup, the sunstone can act as a natural steam engine. One need only soak it in a gallon of water for 24 hours, then expose it to light for ten minutes. The microscopic and labyrinthine pores in the stone fill with water, then its absorbing of the sun super-heats the thin bands of water leading to a continuous steam reaction. The sunstone’s exposed tip has a velvet lined leather cap to cover it, so one can decide exactly when to begin the solar influence.
The strange engine propels The Endeavor for up to six hours. With a lever in the cockpit to shift gears, the sunstone’s constant RPM is geared up or down for minor alterations in landing, cruising, or take-off. While there is room for a pilot, a passenger, and a backwards “gunner”, the plane has the lift for 20 slots of weight total. It also moves at 120 mph, and has +2 to gambits involving spinning (that’s a good trick, after all), but -2 at gambits involving gaining back control when something goes wrong.
The Seven of Spades
Nestled under the seat, made of a single beautiful branch of Widowmaker, is a gunstock. Across the top of the gunstock are seven doves burned into the wood, each with a spade incorporated into their designs. (Beak, breast, talon, eye, etc.)
One may find this lone wooden furniture strange, but any of you familiar with the AR-7 may have your interest piqued.
“I wonder…”
With a shimmy and a “Pop!”, the back of the stock can be slid off. Inside you’ll find a waxed cloth bundle containing heavy ammo (1d6 UD), and the various iron fittings (barrel, receiver, magazine) needed to complete the gun that the stock goes to. It takes two move actions to assemble the weapon, and then you have yourself a five-shot heavy firearm.
The Seven of Spades cannot use a bayonet like most heavy firearms, but it does allow one to store up to two spells inside as a Light Magical Foci. The spells cannot be cast from the gun unless in its assembled form. Also, as with all items made of Widowmaker wood, fresh blood rubbed on the gunstock will activate a glowing silver light that illuminates up to 20ft away and does not interfere with infravision.
A Sense of Immersion 