The Tri-Lift Freighter is the everyday commercial workhorse of the sky lanes: three balloons, a big loading ramp, and a design most dock crews already know how to handle. It’s soft in a real fight, but it was never meant to be a warship. It keeps trade moving, and that’s usually enough.
Used mainly by the factions of Roh-ber, with a few in Aetheria and Ezogashima and a select few in Sanctara, probably controlled by the Holy Order.
Tri-Lift Freighter
Huge vehicle (approx. 45–55 ft. long)
Creature Capacity 8 crew, 20 passengers
Cargo Capacity 20 tons
Travel Pace 7 miles per hour (168 miles per day)
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 (+2) | 12 (+1) | 15 (+2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Damage Immunities poison, psychic
Condition Immunities blinded, charmed, deafened, exhaustion, frightened, incapacitated, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, stunned, unconscious
Actions
On its turn the Tri-Lift Freighter can take: 2 actions if it has 6+ crew, 1 action if it has fewer than 6 crew
- Move
- Fire Weapons
- Deploy Ramp
Components
Hull
Armor Class 14 (practical reinforced gondola)
Hit Points 200 (damage threshold 10)
Control: Helm
Armor Class 15
Hit Points 30
One 90-degree turn. If destroyed, the ship can only move in a straight line.
Buoyancy Envelope (Triple Balloons)
Armor Class 12
Hit Points 120 (shared across all three); –5 ft. speed per 15 damage taken
If reduced to 0 hit points, the ship descends at 20 feet per round. Partial damage only reduces speed until the entire array is destroyed.
Movement: Balloons + Light Propulsion
Armor Class 12
Hit Points 60
Speed (air) 40 ft.; 25 ft. into the wind; 50 ft. with the wind
Can hover.
Weapons: Light Ballista
Armor Class 13
Hit Points 30
Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range 80/320 ft., one target.
Hit: 9 (2d8) piercing damage.
Special Features
Triple Redundancy. The three-balloon design is more reliable than single-envelope commercial vessels. Losing one balloon reduces speed but does not force an immediate descent.
Loading Ramp. The prominent starboard ramp can be deployed as an action. While deployed, creatures and cargo board or unload with advantage on relevant checks, and Medium or smaller creatures can move on or off the ship without a climb check.
Commercial Workhorse. This model is common on trade routes. In ports that see regular air traffic, crews and dockworkers have advantage on checks made to load, unload, or perform basic maintenance on it.
Stable Platform. Advantage on checks to maintain footing during moderate turbulence.
See also: Iron-Lift, its armored sibling.