# The Crimson Terror _Airship (Hybrid Dragon-Vessel)_ --- **Type:** Airship (Unique) **Crew:** 8 (minimum 2 to operate) **Passengers:** 12 **Cargo:** 0.5 tons **AC** 17 (dragon scale armor) **HP** 350 **Speed** 20 mph / 175 ft. per round (flight), 6 mph / 50 ft. per round (water) **Damage Threshold** 10 **Immunities:** Fire, Poison, Psychic --- ## Ship Sections The Crimson Terror has multiple sections that can be targeted separately: | Section | AC | HP | Damage Threshold | | -------------- | --- | --- | ---------------- | | Hull (scaled) | 17 | 200 | 10 | | Wing-Sails | 13 | 75 | — | | Engine Housing | 17 | 50 | 15 | | Cinder's Maw | 19 | 25 | — | **Hull.** The main body of the ship, built from wood and metal reinforced with dragon bone and armored with dragon scales. If reduced to 0 HP, the ship is destroyed. **Wing-Sails.** Dragon bone mast-spars with extended canvas and leather membrane. If reduced to 0 HP, speed drops to 3 mph and the ship cannot gain altitude. Can be repaired with _mending_ (1 HP per casting) or conventional repairs (1 HP per day, 10 gp per HP). **Engine Housing.** Brass containment vessel holding the fire elemental Zarthix. If reduced to 0 HP, the elemental is released (use **Fire Elemental** stat block; hostile to all creatures) and the ship loses all propulsion. The ship descends at a rate of 10 feet per round until it lands or crashes. A new fire elemental under another creature's control can be commanded to enter the housing; closing and sealing it traps the elemental inside. **Cinder's Maw.** The dragon skull figurehead. If reduced to 0 HP, the weapon is disabled until repaired. Repairing requires 50 gp and 1 day per HP restored. --- ## Ship Weapons ### Cinder's Maw (Figurehead) _Requires 1 crew member and gems as ammunition_ **Arc of Fire:** 90 degrees (side to side and up/down from prow) As an action, a creature operating Cinder's Maw can feed it a gem and activate the weapon. The gem is consumed, and the skull exhales dragonfire in a cone. Each creature in the area must make a Dexterity saving throw, taking fire damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one. |Gem Value|Damage|Cone|Save DC|Special| |---|---|---|---|---| |25 gp|5d6|30 ft.|13|—| |50 gp|8d6|40 ft.|15|—| |100 gp|11d6|50 ft.|17|—| |250 gp|14d6|60 ft.|19|Disadvantage on save| |500 gp|17d6|60 ft.|21|Ignores fire resistance| **Ruby Preference.** If the gem used is a ruby, add +1d6 to the damage. --- ### Harpoon Gun (Prow, Port Side) _Mounted on the upper deck near Cinder's Maw_ **Arc of Fire:** 90 degrees (side to side and up/down) **Ammunition:** 10 steel-tipped harpoons, 500-foot coil of rope, winch A spring-loaded harpoon gun fashioned from blackened bronze with iron fittings. **Attack:** +6 to hit, range 120/480 ft., one target **Hit:** 16 (3d10) piercing damage, and the target is impaled **Impaled.** A creature impaled by a harpoon can't take any action on its turn other than trying to free itself, which requires a successful DC 15 Strength check. On success, the target takes 5 (1d10) piercing damage as the harpoon is pulled free. **Tethered.** Tying a rope to a harpoon takes an action. A creature impaled by a tethered harpoon can't move farther away from the gun or increase its altitude. A creature at the winch can use its action to reel in a harpooned target, pulling it up to 20 feet closer. **Crew.** Three actions to load, aim, and fire (can be split among multiple crew members). --- ### Ballista (Aft Castle) _Mounted on an iron swivel at the ship's stern_ **Arc of Fire:** 90 degrees (side to side and up/down) **Ammunition:** 12 bolts (stored in crate) A wooden ballista mounted on an iron swivel. **Attack:** +6 to hit, range 120/480 ft., one target **Hit:** 16 (3d10) piercing damage **Crew.** Three actions to load, aim, and fire (can be split among multiple crew members). --- ## Special Qualities **Dragon-Bone Wings.** The wing bones remember how to fly. The pilot has advantage on ability checks made to perform complex aerial maneuvers or navigate difficult wind conditions. **Residual Warmth.** The dragon scales retain faint heat. Creatures resting aboard the ship in cold environments have advantage on saving throws against extreme cold. **Living Vessel.** The ship occasionally responds to stimuli—the tail twitches in strong winds, the wings adjust without input, the walls seem to breathe. Creatures who spend their first long rest aboard must succeed on a DC 10 Wisdom saving throw or gain no benefit from the rest due to unease. This effect ends after a creature has successfully completed one long rest aboard. --- ## Crew Requirements |Crew Size|Capabilities| |---|---| |**8 (Full)**|All ship functions operate normally| |**2 (Minimum)**|Pilot + Engineer only. Cannot use weapons. Disadvantage on maneuver checks| |**1 (Skeleton)**|Ship drifts with wind at half speed in random direction. No weapons| --- ## Crew Stations **Pilot (The Skull).** Operates helm from inside the dragon's skull, looking out through the eye sockets. Uses Dexterity or Intelligence for maneuver checks. **Engineer (Chest Cavity).** Manages the fire elemental Zarthix. If the elemental becomes agitated (after cold damage, fuel starvation, or neglect), must succeed on DC 13 Charisma (Intimidation) or Wisdom (Animal Handling) check to restore control. Failure: speed halved until control regained. **Gunner - Cinder's Maw (Prow).** Loads gems and activates the figurehead. One action to fire. **Gunner - Harpoon (Port).** Operates harpoon gun and winch. **Gunner - Ballista (Aft).** Operates ballista. --- ## Ship Layout **The Bridge (Skull Interior).** The helm is positioned where the dragon's brain once sat. Bone curves overhead, blackened from centuries of fire. Viewing ports carved through the eye sockets. **Main Deck.** Runs along the ship's length, with the dragon's spine visible beneath wooden planking. The hull's exterior is armored with scales—still warm, still faintly red. Kobold crew quarters built into cramped nooks between structural ribs. **Passenger Cabins.** Four small cabins line the lower deck, each framed by dragon ribs with wooden bunks and portholes of thin-scraped scale. Fits 2-3 per cabin. The bones creak and the walls feel warm. **Captain's Quarters (Heart Chamber).** An interior cabin framed by dragon ribs, positioned where the heart once beat. **Engine Room (Chest Cavity).** Zarthix burns in a brass containment vessel cradled by ribs. Intensely hot. **The Hold.** Cargo storage in the ship's belly, ribs arching overhead. **The Galley.** Everything is on fire or recently was. **Wing-Sails.** Dragon wing bones serve as mast-spars, membrane extended with treated canvas and leather. **The Tail.** Dragon tail bones extended into a stabilizing rudder. It still moves slightly on its own. --- ## Crew Roster |Name|Role|Notes| |---|---|---| |Ash|Captain|Wears a hat three sizes too big| |Sash|Steward|Wears a dirty red sash| |Dash|Pilot|Six pairs of goggles| |Bash|Engineer|Wrench as big as his body| |Flash|Gunner (Maw)|Singed eyebrows, smells of sulfur| |Gnash|Chef|Everything charred| |Cash|Quartermaster|Guards the supplies jealously| |Trash|Intern|Carries a mop, looks miserable| The crew privately calls the ship "The Shiny Burny."