This article originally appeared in d20 Weekly

Airships

Airships

Published by Bastion Press

Written by Sam Witt

96-page b&w softcover; $24.95

Its not too often that something truly original appears in the d20 System field. But once in a while something unique arises from the slew of class and race books, and is unleashed upon the jaded public.

This newest release by Bastion Press is one such book. Usually associated with dirigibles of WWI era, airships -- flying vessels -- don't often enter into fantasy gaming. Airships covers the topic, including everything from aerial combat and ship construction to trading and crew classes. It's comprehensive, but is it good?

At $24.95 for 96 pages, it's an expensive book, to be sure. The cover is glossy and colorful, but the artwork -- by Todd Morasch -- just doesn't compare to some of the others that will be sharing the store shelves with it. The interior artwork ranges widely from inferior and somewhat gaudy to stunning and inspiring. Among the more appealing pieces are the ones that have a pulp feel and the very classy renderings of sample skyships.

The paper throughout is glossy and clearly of high-quality. Editing and layout are thoroughly professional, and the content density is excellent due to narrow margins, small text, and wise use of space. There's an awful lot included for a book of this size.

Airships, as presented herein, are far more capable than anything we've ever been able to design. After all, flying the slow, unwieldy, unstable, and ungainly dirigibles of our world is hardly romantic . . .

This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.



Article publication date: March 5, 2003

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