Fire Gauntlet


The Dwarves on Brimstone have made everything as fireproof as possible, even the ships. In the early days after the wars, Brimstone made due with what they had. Ships carefully flew in as not to accidently be blown into the lava. Many spotters were on hand and tow lines were dropped for the final approach. Over the past fifty years or so, Brimstone has become a popular port city. To accomidate this, the Dwarves have built docks onto asteroids up in space and solid metal hulled ships to safely and comfortably ferry people and cargo down to the planet. It can carry 40 people comfortably in the chairs in the lounge area, plus other passengers in the state rooms, and upper observation deck. This may seem like more than the ship can handle, but keep in mind that they only need enough breathable air for a few hours, not for weeks. The 25 ton ship can provide enough air for 60 people for at least a few days which is more than enough even concidering emergency situations.

The Fire Gauntlet is as realistically safe as it is visably safe. Much effort was put into making it look strong and impenetrable. Certainly any good engineer could tell you that one inch thick steel is sufficent to protect against momentary contact with lava bursts, but even a farmer that has never been to Brimstone is confident that the eight inch steel hull plates will hold up just fine. Everything on the ship is made of steel, or sculpted, tinted, walls of force. Since the shuttles travel outside the sphere, they never need to worry about MDZs, and the walls of force protect the passenters at all times. For the braver passengers, there is an open deck on the back. The barriers are even used as doorways. Huge planes of force cover the rear exit ways. They easily come down with the pull of a switch (locked in possition during travel of course) and re-engage just as easily.

Instead of taking the firemages away from their studies, the shuttles are powered by a built in furnace helm. This negates the possibility of putting in some other type of helm, but the dwarves found it easiest to construct them this way. Most often, the furnace is fueled with charged crystals that the mages have enfused with their magical energy. In an emergency, or if trades are exceptionally good, magic items might be used.

Fire Gauntlets are found almost exclusively on Brimstone. They could of course travel between spheres, however their lack of any sails harms their already sluggish maneuverability and their built in funace helm is not the ideal for long space voyages. The interrior of the ship is also designed for short term travel with few accomidations for a crew and no weapons mounts. Although the Dwarves on Brimstone have the expertise, easily accessable resources, and huge furnaces to make the ship's hull, few other worlds do. A Fire Gauntlet found in any other sphere is a strange site indeed.