A hot-air balloon was a type of flying vessel in which a small craft was lifted by a large balloon or sac.[1]
Description[]
It operated on the principle of using a relatively small flame to heat the air inside the balloon, making it warmer and less dense than the air outside, which caused it to become buoyant and ascend.[1]
Once off the ground, the balloon was driven by the winds, but a skilled pilot could apply some control. In strong winds they became harder to handle, and the pilot could even completely lose control, leading to catastrophe. Moreover, the balloons were fragile and could be punctured, causing a crash.[1]
Types[]
Battle Balloons[]
Combat airships held aloft by a hot-air balloon were considered a proprietary vehicle by the adventuring company Acquisitions Incorporated as of the late 15th century DR. The origins of these battle balloons was kept a secret, and they were a rarely used but potent tool in the company's arsenal. While designed for battle, they were also sometimes used when speedy transportation or a mobile headquarters was needed.[2]
Carcerian Skin Balloons[]
Coincidentally, all balloons depicted on this page have faces on them somewhere.
In the Tarterian Depths of Carceri, hot-air balloons were considered an excellent method of traveling between the orbs that made up that plane. However, these balloons were fashioned from the hides and skins of Carceri's denizens, and rumors warned that unwise travelers were also used to patch some balloons. Some of the creatures that flew in the void naturally took offense at seeing their kind's skin being used so, and were apt to attack such balloons. A typical balloon carried two persons,[1] but some could hold up to ten passengers.[3]
History[]
According to gnomish legend, the god Nebelun the Meddler stole the tail of the lizardfolk god Semuanya while he was bathing, then skinned it and sewed it together, before inflating it with a massive set of bellows, creating a hot-air balloon. With a wicker basket lashed to the bottom, Nebelun flew it around for a while, failed to crash, and landed successfully, with the thing only exploding afterward. Thereafter, the lizard tail and bellows was the symbol of Nebelun,[4] whose aspect on Toril was borrowed by Gond the Wonderbringer.[5]
During the unplanned Great Modron March of the planes, a group of adventurers tried to track the modrons through Carceri and sought passage between the orbs to a portal. The Anarchist agent Aach offered them passage on her hot-air balloon, which was made from the skin of Carceri's petitioners. They followed the modrons to a portal to Undermountain.[3]
In the Year of the Ageless One, 1479 DR, drow used a hot-air balloon made from spider silk in the shape of a massive arachnid as they evacuated from Ithimir Isle off the coast of Akanûl. Webs from the balloon carried a cocoon as big as a small house, in which was transported an arambarium mother lode. Alongside it, hundreds of spiders and giant spiders carried ettercaps and undead miners and deployed webs that were caught by the winds and pulled them into the air to follow the balloon. Their destination was a portal to the Demonweb Pits.[6]
Just a big gasbag full of hot air, really.
To promote the High Sun Games held at the newly built arena in Neverwinter in the late 1490s DR, Lord Forge Fitzwilliam raised a hot-air balloon above the city. It had his own grinning face on it[7][8][9] and carried a gondola resembling a green dragon, with a lantern hanging from its jaws and sandbags around the sides for ballast.[7][9] During the Games themselves, whilst Sofina invoked the horn of beckoning death, the thieves Edgin Darvis, Holga Kilgore, Simon Aumar, and Doric placed a portal from their hither-thither staff on the balloon, over the image of Forge's mouth, so that it would spew treasure over the streets of Neverwinter, thereby leading the spectators out of the arena and to safety.[7]
Appendix[]
See Also[]
Appearances[]
Adventures
Novels & Short Stories
Film & Television
Organized Play & Licensed Adventures
Gallery[]
External Links[]
Hot-air balloon article at Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Colin McComb (December 1995). “Liber Malevolentiae”. In Michele Carter ed. Planes of Conflict (TSR, Inc.), p. 9. ISBN 0-7869-0309-0.
- ↑ Jerry Holkins, Elyssa Grant, Scott Fitzgerald Gray (June 18, 2019). Acquisitions Incorporated. Edited by Scott Fitzgerald Gray. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 217–218. ISBN 978-0786966905.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Monte Cook, Colin McComb (1997-10-28). The Great Modron March. Edited by Michele Carter. (TSR, Inc.), pp. 92–93. ISBN 0-7869-0648-0.
- ↑ Carl Sargent (May 1992). Monster Mythology. (TSR, Inc), p. 36. ISBN 1-5607-6362-0.
- ↑ Eric L. Boyd (November 1998). Demihuman Deities. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), pp. 136–154. ISBN 0-7869-1239-1.
- ↑ Bruce R. Cordell (June 2012). Spinner of Lies. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 19. ISBN 978-0-7869-5995-2.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley (2023). Honor Among Thieves. (Paramount Pictures).
- ↑ David Lewman (February 28, 2023). Honor Among Thieves: The Junior Novelization. (Random House Worlds), chap. 5, p. 38. ISBN 0593647955.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Eleni Roussos (April 4, 2023). The Art and Making of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. (Random House Worlds). ISBN 9781984861863.