Skyfoil

Throughout Karos, the vast majority of old technologies, devices powered by magic and gods, has lain dormant for centuries. While many races seem content to make new technological gains at a crawl, the Gnomes of Gnottingham have fused their own magic with new discoveries in an attempt to tame their harsh environment.

A Leviathan Hunter

It's an amazing ship, really! It's fast, quiet, and its crew can bring down the fiercest beasts in the Tides!

— - Roq Squigglehart, Elder

The Skyfoil is a prototype sea vessel commissioned by the Elder Council of Gnottingham. Fusing magic and metal, this ship is capable of surviving for a protracted time period in the monster-infested waters of The Tempest Tides. Specifically, the Skyfoil uses a primarily aluminum hull to cut its weight by nearly fifty percent, making it faster and more maneuverable. It comes equipped with dual propulsion systems: a traditional three mast sail system and an experimental steam engine that can run continuously for up to a month - theoretically.

The vessel utilizes more technology and magical wards to offset the cons of its lighter displacement. Sea dragon scale mats serve as insulators that keep the steam engine from warping the aluminum hull, and glyphs of gravity magnification allow the ship to sail in harsh waters without foundering. The hull itself presents a significantly smaller sound profile underwater, which gives the ship enhanced stealth capabilities when dealing with leviathans, again theoretically.

Easily the most impressive component of the Skyfoil is its "lightning capture and redirection apparatus." This marvel spans the entire length of the ship. Specially constructed rods blessed by priests of both Taelnius and Sarthik nest in the masts of the ship. In the notoriously tumultuous waters of The Tempest Tides, inevitable storms rain down lightning on the Skyfoil. The LCaRA device captures those strikes in a series of batters and stores the energy. The energy can be redirected through forward turrets on the ship with an almost fifty percent success rate. Field tests have shown that this device is the next generation of anti-leviathan defense.

Lofty Goals and Peaceful Hearts

The humans push out further every year, and no one wants to run into a minotaur ship out there! The council wants to ensure that, if we need to strike out and leave the Far Reaches for more western lands, the Gnomish people are ready.

— - Roq Squigglehart, Elder

Without a doubt, the Skyfoil is the strongest ship to sail the waters of The Far Reaches. It is faster, stronger, and more resilient than anything fielded by any other race. Only the natural creatures of The Tempest Tides could sink this ship in battle, and that is uncertain. However, the Gnomes have never considered turning their prototype on their neighbors. Never a people to seek war, the elders of Gnottingham intend the ship only to see them through the monster infested waters that stand between them and new lands to the west. No other ship has ever survived the trek, but the Gnomes hope that the Skyfoil will be the first.

But before it can undertake the mission for which it was built, the vessel will have to undergo rigorous testing. Soon, it will take its maiden voyage, a goodwill trip to the human city of Frosthold for a trade mission and to attend the annual Autumn Harvest and Brew Festival.