chrispenycate
Sage
Airships are, by the very physics of their operation, very big, and their gondolas and engine pods small in proportion (I'm always worried with fantasy which laws of nature have been suspended. So I'm writing as if none of them have, and you can decide afterwards which to ignore). They are sensitive to atmospheric conditions, easily blown off course and handle sluggishly. You don't try to land them, you moor them, like anchoring a ship. Since their envelopes can not be made entirely gas tight, they carry cylinders of compressed lift gas, and have a compression pump to empty the envelope if essential, though this will take a day or more.
Firearms in general are not recommended; far better torsion crossbows. The envelopes are varnished silk, and very vulnerable to flame. If you're at war, then destroying your enemy is acceptable (and the anti-pirate forces will use this advantage, and the pirates themselves be ready to implement should they be caught).
But pirates rely on booty, and losing it to fire or the impossibility of carrying it home defeats the purpose. Their spare lift capacity are the crew members that die in the assault. Gold, ransoms, spices and silks; whatever the merchant can carry enough better than ships or caravans. Dispatches, medicines, replacement parts for critical machines. Not food or ammunition, except in exceptional circumstances.
Along the sides of the pirate's nacelle, like shield along a viking longship, are hang-gliders. The predator flies higher than its prey, up where breathing is an effort, and knows the winds intimately. It tries to remain unseen, preferably in the blind spot of the gasbag (there may well be a solitary lookout up top, with a speaking tube to the bridge, so try and stay in the sun). Then the boarders jump, one after the other. The hang gliders are faster, and more manoeuverable than the airships, and can land on top, clipping hang gliders/directable parachutes onto the webbing round the bag, then abseiling down, fast, swinging in and round the gasbag to attain the gondola. You can, at this point, chuck a rope into a propellor to disable it, or detach the rudder, but why bother? The only action they can take fast is dump ballast, and leap to a higher altitude (which incidentally happened to the pirate craft as its paratroops jumped; everyone who stayed aboard got their ears popping), or vent gas and dive, hoping to shake loose some of the invaders, and that works regardless of the state of the propellors.
Fast, because the Captain will have an auto-destruct, might even be able to rig it as a dead man switch, and might recognise the sound of people landing on his roof and rappeling towards him, but he certainly doesn't want to use it unless all other alternatives fail. So he's likely to put it off too long if the attackers are fast enough.
The gondola might be open, or sealed, but from weight considerations, it's not going to be armoured. So hatchets are carried for panelling and viewport penetration, chopping through ropes, and secondary weapons. As there's a considerable fire risk I'd prefer non-sparking bronze to steel, but it's not really important. There are lamps enough, and stoves (for heating as well as in-flight meals), that probably sparks can be ignored.
Firearms in general are not recommended; far better torsion crossbows. The envelopes are varnished silk, and very vulnerable to flame. If you're at war, then destroying your enemy is acceptable (and the anti-pirate forces will use this advantage, and the pirates themselves be ready to implement should they be caught).
But pirates rely on booty, and losing it to fire or the impossibility of carrying it home defeats the purpose. Their spare lift capacity are the crew members that die in the assault. Gold, ransoms, spices and silks; whatever the merchant can carry enough better than ships or caravans. Dispatches, medicines, replacement parts for critical machines. Not food or ammunition, except in exceptional circumstances.
Along the sides of the pirate's nacelle, like shield along a viking longship, are hang-gliders. The predator flies higher than its prey, up where breathing is an effort, and knows the winds intimately. It tries to remain unseen, preferably in the blind spot of the gasbag (there may well be a solitary lookout up top, with a speaking tube to the bridge, so try and stay in the sun). Then the boarders jump, one after the other. The hang gliders are faster, and more manoeuverable than the airships, and can land on top, clipping hang gliders/directable parachutes onto the webbing round the bag, then abseiling down, fast, swinging in and round the gasbag to attain the gondola. You can, at this point, chuck a rope into a propellor to disable it, or detach the rudder, but why bother? The only action they can take fast is dump ballast, and leap to a higher altitude (which incidentally happened to the pirate craft as its paratroops jumped; everyone who stayed aboard got their ears popping), or vent gas and dive, hoping to shake loose some of the invaders, and that works regardless of the state of the propellors.
Fast, because the Captain will have an auto-destruct, might even be able to rig it as a dead man switch, and might recognise the sound of people landing on his roof and rappeling towards him, but he certainly doesn't want to use it unless all other alternatives fail. So he's likely to put it off too long if the attackers are fast enough.
The gondola might be open, or sealed, but from weight considerations, it's not going to be armoured. So hatchets are carried for panelling and viewport penetration, chopping through ropes, and secondary weapons. As there's a considerable fire risk I'd prefer non-sparking bronze to steel, but it's not really important. There are lamps enough, and stoves (for heating as well as in-flight meals), that probably sparks can be ignored.
Auror
Maester
