Air-Ships Air-ships (or æronefs) are heavier-than-air flying ships. They take off and lands vertically, supported by rotating air-screws, with wings extending to support the ship in horizontal flight. Æronefs are fast but expensive to build and run, uneconomic for civilian use and too noisy to appeal to the luxury market. Typically they carry just enough armour to protect them against small arms fire, their guns pneumatic cannon using compressed air to fire explosive shells. Hulls are generally water-tight, so that the craft can operate from land or water. The largest air-ships can only operate from water. Current designs range in size from small gunboats, as used by the Aerial Hussars, to naval cruisers with a crew of several hundred. The USA, European powers and Britain are currently in a race to develop faster, heavier, and more heavily armored air-ships; so far Britain is narrowly in the lead, but the USA (with the advantage of cheap oil) is rapidly catching up. British and European air-ships are coal fuelled. The names of British military air-ships have the prefix HMAS (His or Her Majesty's Air-Ship) for Naval vessels, AAS (Army Air-Ship) for army craft.

ON a warm autumn afternoon in October 1898 I set out to dine at the mess of the Queen's Own Aerial Hussars. It was the first time I'd visited the regiment, and I was looking forward to meeting the officers and men who have done such sterling work for Britain and humanity since the present crisis began.

I reached their base near Coventry a little early, and expected to spend a comfortable hour chatting with my old friend Captain T___, commander of the Fifth Squadron - I should explain here that there is a policy that serving members of the regiment should not be named, to protect their families and homes from unwelcome attention - before dressing for dinner. When I arrived I found that things were not to go as planned. The base was bustling with activity and the gates were closed; I was nearly turned away by the guard, but fortunately his sergeant recognised my name and was prepared to admit me. As I parked my steamer near the landing field wagons laden with shells and powdered coal rattled past, and I could see dozens of men working on the field. It was obvious that several air-ships were being prepared for flight. From the grim attitudes of some of the soldiers I passed, it was more than a drill...

FOLLOWING the development of the first practical æronef air-ships in the 1880s, the Royal Navy began to develop fleets of aerial destroyers and light cruisers; at that time larger air-ships could not be built, but the enormous tactical advantage of height, and the development of powerful explosive bombs and shells, made a flying cruiser the match of any battleship afloat.

Not to be outdone, the Army soon began to field its own air-ship units, concentrating on smaller vessels designed to support ground forces with aerial bombardment and machine-gun fire. Technically these might be considered dragoons, since they convey foot-soldiers and artillery to battle, but since the soldiers aboard them occasionally fight from the air it was decided to treat them as cavalry or hussars. This made them a little more prestigious, which had a good effect on recruitment and morale.

...and so it was that thirty-one men boarded the Broadsword-class air-ship AAS Balaclava that evening; ten crew, twenty officers and men, and one supernumary journalist wearing a borrowed uniform. The commander of our gallant craft was Lieutenant P____, a keen youngster who made an alarmingly accurate guess of my weight, yelled at the ground crew to unload the requisite ballast, and rang "Full power" less than two minutes after I'd boarded. Overhead the three twin-bladed air-screws began to turn, slowly at first then gaining momentum. Scraps of litter and coal dust blew from the hastily-cleared decks, and I distinctly saw someone's forgotten cap fly overboard. With a slight wobble we rose into the air; Lieutenant P____ immediately rang for full power on the aft screws, and we began to gain speed. It was a far cry from the stately rise of a fifty-screw Navy cruiser, where every manoeuvre seems part of an elephantine ballet. In less than a minute we were above the clouds and moving forward at a brisk pace, and Lieutenant P____ ordered the wings extended.

"This is where we have to be careful" he said "Swing the wings out without slowing the lift screws and they'll tear off from the downdraught. Slow too much, before the wings are extended or we reach cruising speed, and we'll drop like a stone. Let either wing open much more than the other and we lose our balance. That's what happened to D'Urban last month, the port wing jammed half-open at five hundred feet and they couldn't get the balance right before she hit the ground. Lucky they weren't all killed." As he spoke he deftly juggled the telegraphs for wing position, lift screws, and rear screws, barking orders to the helmsman as needed, without a wasted motion. Through the side portholes I could see the wings sweep forward, each opening fan-like to curve forward through a semi-circular arc like those of a gliding hawk. Ahead the twin guns glinted dimly in the moonlight, their metal deliberately dulled to reduce reflections. A hundred yards to port another air-ship, the Alexander, was going through the same manoeuvres, with Flashman and Cromwell II on our starboard bow. We rocked slightly as a small Rapier-class, the Edgehill, completed the evolution and surged ahead to take up a position leading the squadron. "Show-off," said Lieutenant P____, "but it's probably the most excitement he'll get tonight, the lads down below will probably be doing most of the work, with our guns to help them if needs be. The small fry just cover us with their Maxims, or maybe drop a few five-pounder bombs if we need it, but they're generally more dangerous to us than to anything we'll be fighting."

"A couple of hours to wait now" said Captain T____, leading me aft from the bridge (if a compartment the size of a small larder can really be called that) and down to the saloon. "By the way, you don't want to believe all he says about the Rapiers, they're actually very useful. Faster than us, and nippy enough to suppress threats to our troops before we run into trouble on the ground. But they're still a little temperamental, and some good men were hurt when D'Urban crashed."

These small air-ships are cramped, and twenty men and their equipment were crammed into a space little larger than a third-class railway compartment, lit by dim red lights to ensure good night vision. A hatch aft led to the engine room, and I thought of going to take a closer look at her turbines, but one glance through the opening convinced me that there was no room for sightseers. Two stokers were manhandling sacks of powdered coal to the feed hoppers, while the engineers tended to valves, dials, and a complicated network of pipes and ducts, some glowing red-hot, all the while deftly avoiding the rotating shafts and gears that make any engine room a death-trap for the unwary, in temperatures that would fry an egg if anyone dropped one on the deck-plates.

Kipling, ibid.

Formed in 1894, The Queens Own Aerial Hussars is a regiment modelled on ideas borrowed from the Confederate army of the US Civil War. Originally its wartime mission was intended to be raiding operations behind enemy lines. In peacetime the regiment was to have acted as a flying rapid-response force for riots and other civil emergencies. However, circumstances have changed, and the regiment now has an unusual specialisation; it is Britain's main military defence against supernatural attacks.

In the late 1880s Count Dracula of Transylvania attempted to spread the curse of vampirism to the flower of English womanhood. Although he was defeated by a foreigner, a Doctor Van Helsing, his attack resulted in several deaths and the creation (but fortunately rapid destruction) of more vampires. There was a half-hearted attempt to keep the story secret, but more incidents occurred in the following months, and it became apparent that the curse of vampirism, formerly considered to be little more than a myth, had come to the British isles. Questions were asked in Parliament, and it was clear that something had to be done.

It was obvious that these incidents were potentially the prelude to an uncontrollable epidemic of vampirism. Fortunately Van Helsing had been aided in his fight by Lord Godalming, a nobleman of enormous influence who came to realise the importance of creating a permanent defence against the undead. Soon after the Aerial Hussars became operational they were assigned to this unusual mission, and have since become celebrated as the first line of defence against the monsters that threaten Britain. To date the regiment has defeated eighteen vampires - to everyone's surprise they have also had to deal with five werewolves, the Loch Ness monster (at least one other monster is believed to exist in the Loch, but hasn't yet become a threat), and a haunted mansion. Needless to say, they have also had to handle numerous false alarms.

Sergeant R____ and Corporal K____ made room for me on one of the benches, and the latter passed me a tin mug of tea from an urn at the rear of the cabin. His skin seemed a little grey, and I wondered if he was quite well, then noticed the scars on his neck. He saw my poorly-concealed stare, and said "Vampire bite. Ten seconds to get bit, then a month feeling like death while the quacks pumped silver muck into me blood every few days. If they cremate me when I die they'll get enough silver back to pay for the funeral."

I asked "How did it happen?" He shrugged and said "We was clearing out a castle on one of the Scottish islands, belonged to a blood-sucker called Ruthven. Not one of your Balkan mob, although I suppose he could have been bit out there. Been around for centuries, married women and killed them, pretended to die then posed as his own son to take over the estate. Had the locals so mesmerised that they never noticed what was going on, but someone visiting the island for a holiday looked at the parish records, spotted it and raised the alarm. That was a real b_____ - he was so old that he could look more or less human, even in a mirror, and it turned out he could go outdoors in daylight if he had to. Sneaked around behind us while we were closing in on his tomb, killed two of us before he got me. I saw him out of the corner of my eye, just got a shot off before he had me, and that brought in the rest of the lads to chase him back inside. We got the servants and their families out but ended up having to shell the castle, left him buried under a few hundred tons of rubble. Mind you, that one's supposed to have come back from the dead at least twice, so we may have it all to do again one of these years." I laughed, then realised he was deadly serious. "Aged me five years, they reckon, the bite and the medicine, and my skin will always be grey now. Better than being a bloodsucker, I suppose."

Kipling, ibid.

Anti-vampire operations are generally a cross between counter-terrorism and hostage rescue; vampires can mesmerise dozens of victims, all of whom will do anything to protect their masters. The vampire must usually be winkled out of a highly fortified lair, separated from its followers, and killed. It may also infect some of its victims with vampirism, creating more of its kind, but since they can only feed on the living they nearly always have victims who are uninfected, or in the earliest stages of the disease, who must be rescued. After the vampires have been killed these victims must be quarantined and if necessary treated for vampiric infection; the disease can be stopped if treated with silver and mercury compounds early enough, although a proportion of those treated die despite (and in some cases because of) the treatment. If they die with these chemicals in their bodies they are not reborn as vampires. A common side-effect of the anti-vampire treatment is a condition known as agyria, in which skin (especially thicker folds) is permanently stained blue-grey by the photoreactive silver compounds. Medical doses of the drugs are ineffective on true vampires, although a large enough dose will kill them - or anyone else - in minutes.

Werewolf hunts are very different; they are marauding monsters, fast and deadly, killing indiscriminately and almost invulnerable to small arms fire. Their bite carries the infection, and survivors often succumb to it. Usually the best way to deal with them is to force them out into the open then strike from the air.

...showed me a razor-sharp claw, about two inches long, that he kept as a souvenir. "This came from the Bodmin Moor werewolf. We caught up with it after it had killed a little girl - wasn't even hungry, she just disturbed it when it was sleeping. We've got the head over the fire in the mess." He looked distant for a moment, then added "You can't think of a monster like that as human, or give it a Christian burial, it's better to think of them as animals. In a way they are, of course, they have no idea of good or evil, just mindless hunger. No way of finding out who it was originally, of course, once they're dead they never change back. I don't know what we'd do if we ever caught one alive, or when it wasn't changed."

Kipling, ibid.

Other missions vary; the Loch Ness operation ended up with several air-ships firing their guns at a huge and virtually unstoppable monster, and the eventual use of a Navy cruiser to finish it off. The regiment's one encounter with a haunted house was a much quieter affair, bought to a satisfactory conclusion without casualties or significant property damage thanks to the help of a civilian "ghost detective" who identified the cause of the disturbance.

The main weapons for close-in work against vampires are the smoothbore and rifled guns, both double-barelled, described above, swords and knives with silver-plated blades, and hand-held wooden stakes. There are currently no magazine-loading or pump-action anti-vampire guns; the long cartridges jam too easily for them to be practical at present, though several manufacturers are trying to develop such a weapon.

Spears, bows and crossbows have been tried but are too unwieldy for use in confined spaces. There have also been experiments with grenades with wood or silver casings, but they seem to be no more effective than conventional explosives - in the long term they might do more harm to a vampire, but the fragments of shrapnel seem to be too small for any immediate effect. There are also problems with the reliability of fuses for all grenades.

Larger quantities of explosives, such as artillery shells, will destroy them; the snag is that vampires move so fast that it is difficult to pin them down long enough to take aim. At least one man in each squad carries some dynamite and fuses, but they are rarely used.

All of these weapons work against werewolves, and shotguns firing silver buckshot have also been very effective - but do little immediate damage to vampires. Each air-ship also carries a sealed ammunition chest containing belts of silver Maxim-gun ammunition. They cost thirty-five pounds per belt, and an officer must give orders to break the seal before they can be used.

Most vampires are deterred by religious symbols, provided that the person using them is confident and has some faith in them. Herr Freud has a theory that the effect is largely psychological, and in part an effect of the vampire's own psychic powers - the user believes that the vampire will be harmed, and the vampire senses that belief so takes psychosomatic damage if the symbol comes too close. The snag is firstly that few men have sufficient faith and confidence to pull off this trick, secondly that the vampire must be able to see the symbol, must know what it is, and must have time to react to it. None of these factors are likely to occur in combat. Magnesium flares are more useful in driving vampires off, since their eyes seem to be unusually sensitive to bright light, but they must be lit with a match or fired from a flare gun and burn out in thirty seconds or so.

Like all military forces in this era, the Hussars make very little use of electrical signalling devices. Instead they use signal lamps and heliographs, flags, whistles, and flares. Field telephones take too long to set up to be useful to such a fast-moving force. Wireless is in its infancy, and although the Navy has equipment on its largest air-ships, it still weighs several tons and won't be available for small craft for years to come. Personal radios are only found in the wildest scientific romances.

As the flare fell soldiers rose from cover nearer the house and began to open fire, and the vampire lept towards the horse. I could see spurts of brick dust and splintering wood as our bullets hit the wall, but the vampire seemed to be unharmed - he ducked behind the horse, then leapt onto its back and tried to ride away from the farm. For a moment the horse bucked, and I thought that he would be thrown clear, but something drew blood from the horse's rump, and it suddenly bolted.

"Good - I wanted him clear of the house," said Captain T____, "now we can really get to work." He blew three sharp blasts on a whistle, then fired a blue flare after the fleeing horse. The fields, which had previously seemed empty, suddenly filled with soldiers, rising from cover to fire at the fleeing vampire. There was a sudden roar from above, and Edgehill swooped after horse and rider. As she passed overhead I could see the gunners manning the rear Maxims, secured by strong canvas straps to stop them being blown overboard. Suddenly Captain T____ swore: "He's heading for the railway, and another train's coming!" He fired another flare, this one yellow, then urged me to my feet to follow the fleeing vampire. Behind the hill I could hear the Balaclava's engines roar back to life - a minute later she grounded in front of us, her propellers still spinning, and Captain T____, his men, and I scrambled back aboard, lining the ship's rails with our guns ready to fire. Forward the gunners fired more star-shells, illuminating the fleeing vampire and the other soldiers. Somehow he had passed the gauntlet unscathed, and was making for the approaching train.

Kipling, ibid.

Before an operation begins a code of signals is agreed. For example, five colours of flare are available, and by firing multiple flares many instructions are possible. For example:

Red:	Air-ships fire star-shell, soldiers to open fire if the target is visible.
Blue:	Enemy is fleeing in direction of flare, all units attack.
Yellow:	Regroup and board air-ships

and so forth for green, white, and combinations of any two of the above.

Organisation

The Aerial Hussars are based near Coventry, with subsidiary bases near Aberdeen, London, Ulster and in Cornwall. These subsidiary bases have landing and coaling facilities, workshops, and barracks blocks, but are normally only occupied by a skeleton staff of guards and maintainance personnel. If another base is to be used personnel are transferred by air-ship and train; all essential services can be made fully operational in six to twelve hours on the mainland, eighteen hours in Ulster. There are also landing facilities at most army and navy bases, in an emergency any cleared area of ground or sheltered body of water can be used, although safety regulations say it must be at least three times as long and wide as the air-ship itself.

Air-Ships

Air-ships are æronef designs with turbine engines. To conserve weight steam turbines can't be used; instead they use liquid or powdered fuels, mixed with air and burning at extremely high temperatures. The turbine blades are hit by the expanding combustion gases, not steam. The technology is still a little unreliable; damaged blades are common, and engines must be stripped down at least once a week for inspection and any blade replacement that is needed.

While liquid fuels such as petroleum and paraffin (which the Americans call kerosene) are obviously preferable for this system, powdered solids will also work. The main problem is pitting of the turbine blades by unburned residues, but with sufficiently fine powder no solid survives to reach them. Coal dust works if properly ground and mixed with air before it is burnt.

The USA uses petroleum fuels for its engines, most other powers use coal. Britain must import petroleum but has extensive coal reserves, and has standardised on coal. There have also been British experiments with whale oil and flour as fuels.

Flour shows particular promise since it is milled in huge quantities, contains nearly as much energy as coal, and is only a little more expensive than coal in bulk. Unfortunately most wheat is imported, and the supply might be affected if there was a war. Flour is also more explosive than coal - it is naturally a finely divided powder, whereas coal tends to clump as larger particles. This means that a given weight of flour in air may have three or four times the surface area as the same weight of coal dust in air, and combustion speed is directly proportional to surface area. There has been one case of a flour-fed turbine flashing back and detonating the flour in the fuel hopper, killing everyone in the engine room and making the air-ship crash. It was probably caused by carelessness, but nobody wants to take unnecessary chances. Currently flour is approved as an emergency fuel - in most places it's more readily available than powdered coal - but its use is strongly discouraged, only allowed if lack of fuel endangers a combat mission. If fuel runs out during training missions or manoeuvres orders are to land and wait for a coal delivery.

Whale oil is about as good as petroleum derivatives, but rather smelly. It is being pushed hard by the whaling industry, which is starting to feel the pinch as gas and electric lighting spread across Britain. Royal Navy air-ships assigned to the Falklands patrol are equipped to burn liquid fuels, including whale oil, as well as coal, but the smaller air-ships used by the army don't have room for the extra complexities of two fuel systems.

Three designs of air-ship are used by the regiment (and currently by the army as a whole); all are designed to operate from land or water, and painted in dark colours to reduce visibility at night. Even the guns and brass-work are dulled to prevent reflections. The only exceptions are the folding wings and propellers, which for aerodynamic and mechanical reasons can't easily be painted.

Personnel and Personal Equipment

Characters The Aerial Hussars are an elite unit, and characters will naturally be highly skilled. Generate them on 25 points, with BODY at least 3. For ground forces at least 7 points must go to combat-related skills, including three points devoted to a single combat-related skill (such as Military Arms or Marksman). For air-ship crew at least 7 points must go to combat-related skills, Pilot, or Mechanic.

In view of the regiment's elite status all officers and men are carefully selected for their skills, and trained and equipped to a much higher standard than other units. Most have some training with explosives and a broad spectrum of military weapons; a few study martial arts such as Bartitsu and savate. Many can ride or drive. Other common skills include signals, languages, and first aid. Air-ship crew are trained as pilots, mechanics, etc. Unusually for the British army in this period, almost all soldiers in the regiment are literate.

All soldiers are expected to be proficient with firearms (conventional rifles and the special weapons used against vampires), and are trained with sabres, stakes, and other melee weapons. Personal weapons are allowed in combat (but not on parade) if they are likely to be effective against vampires and won't get in the way too much - most officers and several of the men have swords of higher quality than the standard sabre, and a few officers carry pepper-pot multi-barrel revolvers firing 3" wooden bullets; these aren't standard issue, due to reliability problems.

Equipment for the entire regiment is of unusually high quality; rifles and other weapons are purpose-built or adjusted to match standards, ammunition is regularly replaced with fresh stock, and the air-ships and other equipment are serviced by some of the best mechanics in the army. If special equipment is needed it can usually be built in the regiment's workshops, or commissioned from one or another factory in Coventry or nearby Birmingham, both centres of engineering excellence.

A complete detailed list of equipment carried by combat soldiers in this regiment runs to several pages; the main items are as follows:

• Continental 'Transylvania' .47 smoothbore and 20 rounds or
  10mm Mauser 'Balkan' rifle and 20 rounds with telescope sight or
  Mk II Lee-Enfield rifle and 50 rounds (silver) and silver-plated bayonet (issued mainly for anti-werewolf operations; also used with normal rounds for training and more natural foes).
• Silver-plated cavalry sabre (or personal sword).
• 6 grenades plus fuses.
• 6 silver-tipped wooden stakes, mallet.
• Small first aid kit including 2 vials silver nitrate solution, hypodermic.
• Vampire "detector" if able to use it.
• Crucifix (or other religious symbol, holy water, etc.) if requested.
• Entrenching spade.
• Uniform, Rain cape (camouflaged).
• 30 ft. rope, breaking strain 500 lb.
• Mess kit, water bottle, iron rations for 24 hours
• Electric torch.

• Medical kit - full dressing kit, 20 doses silver nitrate, 10 doses morphine, bottle disinfectant.
• Explosives kit - 10 sticks dynamite, fuses, packet magnesium powder, 1 pint naptha, matches.
• Signals kit - lantern with shutter for morse signals, two flags, heliograph mirror, binoculars.

• Flare gun and selection of flares
• .45 revolver with silver bullets (or personal weapon such as "pepperpot" revolver firing wooden bullets)
• Binoculars (night glasses).
• Map case and maps.

Missions

Missions usually begin with the discovery of evidence of a vampire or other supernatural attack. The evidence generally comes from the police and other civilian authorities, but occasionally derives from reports by members of the public (as in the raid described in Kipling's account) or military intelligence. These reports are forwarded to the War Office, which evaluates them and issues orders accordingly. Eventually they end up with the commander of the Hussars, Lieutenant-Colonel K____.

If possible the report should be confirmed or found to be erroneous before a raid begins. If there is time there is usually some reconnaisance, but in cases where there is an immediate threat to children, there are signs of a rapid spread of vampirism, or some other reason to hurry this step is omitted. For example, if there had been more time before the farmhouse raid a party of soldiers would have probably gone in on foot a night earlier and observed the farm from cover for the next 24 hours; if that wasn't possible some men might have visited the farm in the guise of surveyors, picknickers, or whatever else seemed appropriate.

During the reconnaisance period copies of the large-scale ordnance survey maps for the area are procured, if possible; these can be as large as 1:2500 and even 1:1056 (5 ft to the mile) scale in some urban areas. Maps for the main British cities are already on file at Coventry, with a standing order for all updates as they are produced. Coventry also has 1:10,000 scale maps for the rest of the United Kingdom including Ireland. Enlarged plans of the key areas (such as the farm) are drawn from the map, and the terrain and buildings are modelled in a sand-box if time permits.

Once Lieutenant-Colonel K____ has a rough idea of the mission he decides on squadron assignments; for most operations one or two squadrons are used. Typically Second or Fifth squadron conducts the main assault, with First squadron flying cover if needed. While every effort is made to ensure that Second and Fifth take part in an equal number of operations, a certain proportion of operations turn out to be false alarms. For some reason Fifth squadron seems to get more than its fair share of real action. First and Fourth squadrons see a little less action than either, since most operations don't need extra cover or transport. Troops and crew are frequently transferred between squadrons to ensure that everyone has combat experience.

Mission planning begins while the maps and models are being prepared. Any information that's available is checked, if this can be done without alerting the target of the mission; sources consulted might include parish and school records, medical and police reports, etc. The resources committed to the mission may be changed as plans are developed; for example, if it becomes apparent that an escape route must be plugged the First squadron might be added, or the Fourth squadron sent to land troops to close off the route. The first results from reconnaisance may arrive during the planning stage; if there is obvious evidence of supernatural activity, or it is clear that a mistake has been made, the reconnaisance party will if necessary get clear of the area and report in. If this isn't possible, or they still aren't sure of the true nature of the situation, they will wait for the main raid to arrive. So far no reconnaisance party has been lost, although there have been near misses.

Once the plan is clear the squadron commanders (who mostly have the rank of Captain) brief the air-ship commanders (mostly Lieutenants, although there are two Sergeants) and the officers and NCOs commanding the ground troops. In the raid described above Captain T____ commanded the operation and Fifth squadron as a whole, Sergeant R____ commanded the troops aboard Balaclava, Lieutenant P____ commanded the crew of the Balaclava. Theoretically Captain T____ should probably not have boarded the train, since if he had been lost there was nobody left to command the operation; in practice the squadron commander is expected to lead from the front - that's part of being a Hussar - and everyone knew roughly what to do if he was hurt or killed.

If necessary the squadrons involved in the operation transfer to one of the Hussars' auxiliary bases, or to another secure site if that isn't desirable, before the mission begins. Other ranks are issued ammunition and any special equipment that is needed, and briefed on the operation two to three hours before boarding the air-ships for the raid. Typical subjects of a briefing include the nature of the threat, the layout of the area, signals to be used in the operation, etc.

Most operations are run at night, to stop word of the Hussars' movements reaching their target. This is when supernatural creatures are at their most active, but this isn't necessarily a disadvantage; an active vampire or werewolf is much easier to find than one resting peacefully in a well-concealed coffin or lair.

In all operations the main aim is to contain and eliminate the threat, and make sure that it will not recur. For example, if a vampire is found it must be destroyed, its coffin and earth must be incinerated, and anyone infected by it must be treated. Protecting the innocent is important, but if the only choices are to allow an innocent to be hurt or let the vampire escape, the innocent will unfortunately have to take their chances. Several operations have resulted in collateral damage, up to and including the death of civilians; this invariably leads to a formal enquiry, and if necessary to a court martial, but so far no soldier has received worse than a reprimand and transfer to another regiment.

It should be mentioned that not all operations involve supernatural activity; there have been false alarms, hoaxes, etc., and operations against Fenians and other terrorists. Essentially the Hussars are an expensive and extremely mobile force; it makes sense to use them for other duties when things are quiet on the supernatural front. There are also frequent training deployments and exercises with other regiments. Most important, the Hussars are supposed to be as visible as possible when they aren't actually involved in operations, to reassure the public - the pilot who flew a Rapier through Tower Bridge in London a few months after it opened was promoted, not court-martialed.

Air-Ship Construction

Weapon	Radius	Effect	A	B	C
Shell (Dynamite)	5ft	10	I	C	K
Bomb (Dynamite)	10ft	15	I	C	K
Incendiaries	20ft	6 + 2 / rd.	F	I	K

Weapons can be divided into three classes; guns, bombs, and light weapons.

• Guns are lightweight pneumatic designs (explosive-driven weapons would be much too heavy and have too much recoil) requiring pressure lines from the engines, which has an effect on the total power plant requirement. They fire 4" steel shells. Range is affected by the pressure available from the engines; for a given range the power needed is the square of the range in miles, with a minimum of 1 PR per gun. Each gun adds £1000 to the total cost of an air-ship, weighs 1.5 tons (excluding shells), and needs at least one crewman (although larger ships also have ammunition handlers etc.). Their positions aboard ship should be noted. Guns must be placed symmetrically on the longitudinal axis of the ship; for example, paired bow or stern chasers, four guns on either broadside, one gun firing along the main axis of the ship.

  The weight and cost of guns includes the pipes etc. that supply them with compressed air, stabilisation equipment, aiming devices, and other accessories. The components that determine a gun's range are a comparatively small proportion of its weight and cost, and are ignored for these calculations.

  Guns can only be fired if the engines are powering an air compressor; it takes a full round to get up to pressure, thereafter shots can be fired on alternate rounds. Optionally referees can allow guns to be kept ready to fire, with enough compressed air stored for one shot without starting the compressor - however, the compressed air leaks out after a few hours.

• Ammunition costs £30 for a ton of shells, 200 rounds, each containing approximately 6 lb of explosive. The cost and weight do not include a storage compartment. At least one ton should be carried if guns are fitted; without it the guns are useless. The default "mix" of shells is 180 normal shells and 20 star shell in various colours.
• Bombs are simply cylinders of explosive dropped from an air-ship or (more typically) a war-balloon. They hold a greater weight of explosives than a shell, but that is their only advantage; they are less accurate than guns and can only be used on targets directly below the vessel. A rack to hold ten 150 lb bombs weighs a ton including bombs, aiming mechanism and release gear, costs £100 (excluding the bombs themselves), and has no engine power requirement; at least one crewman is needed to operate it. Vessels that carry bombs usually have several racks; additional bombs can be carried as cargo, but can only be loaded into racks when the vessel is grounded. Additional bombs cost £30 for a pallet of ten explosive bombs or incendiaries. Both weigh 0.75 tons.
• Light weapons include machine guns, magazine rifles, pistols, etc. Heavy machine guns weigh 0.1 ton including ammunition, and cost £30; their position on the ship should be noted. One crewman is needed. Other weapons have negligible costs, but if a large magazine of arms and ammunition is carried its weight should be recorded as a compartment (see below).
• Armoured Magazines are used for ammunition, explosives, etc. and cost £30 and add 0.3 tons per ton of ammunition (excluding the ammunition). They are resistant to small-arms and machine gun fire, but will not withstand modern explosives. The weight includes racking appropriate to the type of ammunition carried; for example, a magazine built for shells can't hold bombs, a magazine built for small arms and explosives isn't equipped to house shells. Alternatively ammunition can be stored in normal holds, described below, but ammunition stored this way is more vulnerable to bullets and other accidents, and is less accessible. It can take fifteen or twenty minutes to unpack a pallet of shells, much longer to arm them, whereas a properly equipped magazine can house armed shells safely.

Example: AAS Balaclava Balaclava and her sister-ships are fitted with two guns, each firing three miles. They weigh 3 tons, consume 18 PR, and cost £2000 to manufacture. They don't have a compressed air reserve. 200 rounds are carried, weighing a ton and costing £30, including a few starshells in various colours. A magazine hold is needed for the ammunition, adding another £30 and 0.3 tons; in combat a loader stays in the magazine to pass ammunition up to two gunners. No bomb racks are fitted. A heavy machine gun is carried aft, weighing 0.1 tons and adding £30. While she is a troop-carrier, there isn't a separate magazine compartment for personal guns and ammunition; they're carried by the passengers. Subtotals: 4.4 tons, 18 PR, £2060

Air-ship versus air-ship combat probably isn't going to play much part in an Aerial Hussars campaign; full details can be found in FF VII. Ground combat, and the use of air-ship weapons against ground targets, uses the normal rules; all air-ship weapons are used via the Military Arms skill, for main guns no other skill may be substituted. If more information is required the links below jump to the FF VII air-ship combat rules:

Miscellaneous equipment generally includes searchlights, winches, and sirens; eventually it will also include wireless equipment. There are more specialised possibilities, but these are found in most vessels.

• Searchlights weigh 0.1 ton apiece, and need 1 PR and a crewman. The standard model can be used for signalling, and comes with several coloured glass filters. They cost £100 to construct and install.
• Winches weigh 0.1 tons, cost £50, and consume 1 PR per ton raised. Normally two crew are needed, one to operate the winch controls and one to guide the cable and instruct the winch operator and the helmsman of the air-ship. Note that it is pointless fitting a winch if the vessel's engines don't provide enough extra lift to carry its maximum load.
• Sirens are used as a warning signal in fog or heavy cloud, and to attract the attention of surface vessels etc. They are operated by the helmsman. They cost £50, weigh 0.05 tons, and consume negligible power.
• Wireless is still experimental; the best transmitter/receiver costs £800, weighs 2.5 tons, and needs 4 PR. Tuning is still very hit and miss, and no security (other than the use of code books) is available. Only the largest air-ships have mast space for the antenna wires. A wireless operator is needed.

Accommodation is of course essential. For naval ships most construction assumes a reasonable level of comfort for the crew, slightly better conditions for the officers and any passengers, and possibly some luxury accommodation for important dignitaries. The weight given for this accommodation below includes an occupant. Additional facilities usually include a galley, mess, wardroom, etc., possibly a saloon, and the bridge; the weights of occupants are not included in these components, since it is assumed that they have accommodation elsewhere. For small air-ships, especially those used by the army, most of these comforts are omitted. Finally, cargo (including ammunition and food for the crew) must usually be carried. Unless noted otherwise, energy costs are negligible.

• Spartan accommodation is the norm for army air-ships; a communal cabin with bench seats and hooks for fixing up hammocks on long flights. The minimum cost is £4 and at least 0.1 tons per man (including the man himself, hammocks, lighting, the floor and doors, a communal chemical lavatory, etc.); for heavily armed soldiers assume 0.15 tons per man.
• Crew accommodation is much like that aboard a surface warship; cabins with four or more bunks and moderate comfort. The cost is £10 and 0.2 tons per man (including the man himself, bunks, stowage, lighting, the floor and doors, communal facilities such as lavatories, etc.)
• Officer's accommodation usually consists of cabins with one or two bunks and improved comforts. The cost is £20 and 0.3 tons per man.
• Luxury accommodation consists of a larger cabin with greatly improved comforts, costing £40 and 0.5 tons per occupant. Additionally, it is customary to carry one or more stewards to look after the occupants, but one steward may attend to several passengers. Note that the steward also needs accommodation.
• For naval ships a galley is essential for all but the smallest journeys. They are designed to maximise efficiency; typically one cook can handle up to fifty meals, although food quality may not be superb when this many meals are prepared. Requirements are £100, 0.5 ton, and 2 PR per cook; note that the cooks also need accommodation. Weight does not include food or water, which must be carried as cargo. Food and water requirements are roughly 0.5 tons per hundred MD; thus a crew of 20 will need a ton every ten days. Costs are negligible.
  For army ships the equivalent facility is a tea urn heated by engine heat and a box of sandwiches. The urn costs £5 and it and the sandwiches have negligible weight and power requirements.
• The mess is basically a dining room for the crew. Facilities are minimal, and typically designed to take a third to half the crew in a single sitting. Requirements are £2 and 0.05 ton per crewman accommodated.
• The wardroom is a slightly more luxurious compartment for officers to relax, eat, and hold meetings. There is usually enough space for all the officers. Requirements are £5 and 0.1 ton per officer. Usually a steward is assigned to the wardroom. Passengers may also use wardroom facilities if a saloon isn't available.
• Saloons are more luxurious, most often found in the largest naval vessels. There is generally enough room for everyone travelling in luxury accommodation plus a few guests. Requirements are £5 and 0.25 tons per occupant. At least one steward is needed, but a single steward may look after the luxury cabins and the saloon, and possibly tend to officers too.
• A bridge is essential on all war-craft. It costs £120, weighs 0.6 tons and accommodates the captain, helmsman, and navigator (or navigation table for the captain). Living quarters are also needed for these personnel. Larger ships may have larger bridges accommodating e.g. a gunnery officer and other specialists. Add £40 and 0.2 tons per additional person. The weight of the bridge includes signalling equipment (flags, ropes, flares, etc.).
• Holds typically require £10 and 1.1 tons per ton of cargo (the weight includes the cargo).

The Hull encloses or supports the components described above plus the engines, propulsion equipment etc.; with the hull itself these components add at least a third of the weight, often more. For example, an air-ship with 15 tons devoted to weapons, accommodation, etc. may need to devote another 8 tons to hull and machinery. For small air-ships (including most army designs) this proportion may rise to half the total design weight. This figure can be varied with experience, but it is a useful first approximation for design purposes. For simplicity this design weight is often rounded up or down to a whole number of tons.

The hull is at least 10% of the final design weight, with various modifiers. Round tonnage up to the next 0.1 tons, MD up to the next full number in each stage that follows; changes are cumulative:

• Basic hull - 10% of design weight at £200 per ton.
• Per gun fitted - Add 2% weight, 5% cost to hull
• Ram fitted - Add 25% weight, 25% cost to hull
• Seaworthy boat hull (allows vessel to land on water) - Add 10% weight, 20% cost to hull. This is the norm, but a few air-ships are built to operate from land only.
• Streamlined fairing (improves performance and allows crew to move around on deck while the air-ship is travelling at high speed) - Add 5% weight, 10% cost to hull.
• Armoured - Add 10% weight, 20% cost to hull
  Armour is only effective against machine guns and small arms, not artillery; it is impossible for any flying vessel to carry enough armour to resist modern explosives.

Hull Strength Air-ships have relatively lightweight hulls, and BODY is similarly low. For game purposes the BODY of a vessel's hull is found by the following means (rounding up at each stage): The base BODY is (designed tonnage / 3) plus 5 Per gun fitted - Add 1 BODY Ram fitted - Add 10% Seaworthy boat hull - Add 10% Armoured - Add 30% Normal hulls reduce the Effect of small arms projectiles by 3. Armoured hulls stop small arms projectiles and reduce the Effect of explosives etc. by 6. This is generally not enough to protect a vessel from direct hits.

It is unlikely that maximum power will be needed for all systems simultaneously; vertical screws shut down at high speed, so do not need power, guns can't be manned at high speed. Nevertheless engines are usually designed for this worst-case load, but where margins are tight the maximum likely load (usually power consumption at top speed or the power needed to hover at maximum altitude, whichever is greater, plus the power needed for the guns) is used instead. This usually leads to reliability issues, and is one of the reasons for the problems with the Rapier-class air-ships described above.

Once these components have been selected, and their weight is added to the ship, performance is calculated using the following formulae:

• Speed is found by subtracting the power consumed to keep the vessel aloft (in horizontal flight) and used by other systems from the engine output, then dividing the remainder by the weight of the ship and multiplying by 20. Multiply by 25 instead if a streamlined fairing has been fitted. Emergency full speed (diverting all power to the aft air-screws, with all other systems shut down) is calculated in the same way. This is generally considered to be over-stressing the engines, and can only be sustained for short periods.

  Example: Balaclava Balaclava needs 20 PR to stay aloft in horizontal flight and 19 PR for other systems, total 39 PR. This leaves 61 excess PR; dividing by the final weight of the ship (18.6 tons) and multiplying by 20 gives a final speed of 66 MPH. At emergency full speed with everything else shut down there is 80 excess power, for a final speed of 80 / 18.6 x 20 = 86 MPH.

• Range is calculated by dividing the fuel capacity by the ship's power consumption and multiplying by top speed.

  Example: Balaclava Balaclava uses 100 PR per hour at top, and carries 1000 PR hours of fuel, enough for 10 hours at 66 MPH. This gives a maximum range of 660 miles. In practice range is considerably more than this, since the guns rarely need power for more than a few minutes, but it's the most conservative estimate and is used in mission planning. At lower speeds fuel consumption is a little less, but under 30 MPH or so the vertical air-screws must be used, and it starts to rise again. Note that this range can be doubled if the cargo space is used for fuel.

• Maximum altitude is found by calculating the percentage of excess lift of the air-ship above and beyond that needed to keep it aloft, then multiplying this figure by 10,000 ft. However, oxygen gear isn't carried, and the engines are air-breathing and lose power at high altitudes, so 8,000 ft. is about the maximum safe altitude for all air-ships.

  Example: Balaclava Balaclava needs 39 PR for horizontal flight, and her engines produce 100 PR. The excess is 156%, giving a theoretical maximum altitude of 15,600 ft, but in practice is limited to 8,000 ft by the need for oxygen for crew, passengers, and the engines. She can go higher in an emergency, but this isn't safe. When hovering she consumes 79 PR, giving 25% excess power or a maximum altitude of 2500 ft.; this is the maximum altitude at which gunnery is possible. With all other systems off-line she has 66% excess power and can hover at 6,600 ft.

• Maximum lift (the maximum that the air-ship can raise over and above its design weight) is found by dividing the total power output of the engine by the minimum power needed for vertical flight, subtracting 1, then multiplying the result by the weight of the air-ship.

  Example: Balaclava Balaclava needs 79 PR for vertical flight, and her engines produce 100 PR. She weighs 18.6 tons. 100/79 = 1.26, .26 x 18.6 = 4.8 tons. She can lift just under five tons (e.g. a field gun supported on cables) but naturally her performance suffers according to the extra weight.

Broadsword class (1895-present - also built as RN Hardy class 1892-97) This class was intended as the flying equivalent of a torpedo boat, but is now considered too small for naval combat and has become best known as an army vessel. They have a crew of ten, two guns, one Maxim gun, and passenger capacity of twenty soldiers with equipment or four tons of cargo. They have three vertical screws and three aft for propulsion, cruise at 66 MPH with a top speed of 86 MPH, maximum safe altitude 8,000 ft, and have a range of 660 miles in normal use. The armoured hull has a spiked keel for ramming and is 114 ft. long, with the main hull 66 ft. and 27 ft. wide. They are 48 ft. high from the base of the triple keel to the top of the highest vertical screw. At least fifty ships of this design have been built in Britain, and the design has also been sold abroad. A typical example is AAS Balaclava: Seaworthy hull with ram, turbine engines, 3 vertical screws, wings 18.6 tons loaded weight, £9355, 24 BODY 9 crew, 1 officer, 20 passengers in spartan accommodation, 2 tons cargo, bridge 66 MPH (86 MPH emergency speed), range 660 miles (1320 miles if hold used for fuel), max 2500 ft. on screws, 5,000 ft. on wings, maximum lift 4.8 tons. 2 x guns (3 miles - 2 x fore), 200 rounds ammunition, aft heavy MG, small arms Searchlight, siren

Referee's Information

These are various stages of the infection, from a newly-reborn hatchling vampire to The Count himself.

• New vampire
  BODY [6], MIND [1], SOUL [4], Athlete [6], Brawling [6]
  Fangs, Effect [7] A:F, B:F/I, C:C/K *
  Claws, Effect [7] A:F, B:F/I, C:F/I **
  * All bite wounds contain the vampiric infection, which must be treated as a disease.
  ** Claw wounds are infected on an I result.

  Wounds

  B

  F

  I

  I

  C

  Equipment: Rotting clothing, coffin (or grave)
  Quote: "Arrrurrr!"
  Notes: This is a newly-emerged vampire, either left to fend for itself or under the control of a more experienced master. It is - and looks and smells like - a rotting corpse. As it matures its intelligence will slowly return to that of its previous life. At this stage it has no special powers, can almost always be driven off by religious objects, and suffers serious damage if exposed to daylight - this includes light through a window, through thick cloud, etc.:

  	Effect	A	B	C
  Direct sunlight	3+3/round	F/I	I	C/K
  Thick cloud/window	2+2/round	F/I	I	C/K

• Five year old vampire
  BODY [7], MIND [3], SOUL [6], Athlete (climb, run) [8], Brawling [8]
  Fangs, Effect [8] A:F, B:F/I, C:C/K *
  Claws, Effect [8] A:F, B:F/I, C:F/I **
  * All bite wounds contain the vampiric infection, which must be treated as a disease.
  ** Claw wounds are infected on an I result.

  Wounds

  B

  F

  F

  I

  I

  I

  C

  Equipment: Average clothing, coffin or grave, at least one alternative burial site. £50 hidden in various locations. Quote: "Cower before me, puny mortal!"
  Notes: This is a relatively recent vampire, which has recovered its intelligence and is starting to gain power. It can mesmerise anyone it has bitten by attacking their SOUL with its own and winning; it can mesmerise anyone else by doing this for three successive rounds. It has 1D6 mesmerised humans under its control. It can create the illusion of a normal appearance, but the illusion doesn't work in mirrors, and can be penetrated by anyone using their SOUL to overcome that of the vampire. It can be driven off by crosses and other religious symbols if they are backed by real faith, and is harmed by daylight:

  	Effect	A	B	C
  Direct sunlight	2+2/round	F/I	I	C/K
  Thick cloud/window	1+1/round	F/I	I	C/K

• 100 year old vampire
  BODY [10], MIND [3], SOUL [6], Athlete (climb,run) [10], Brawling [12]
  Fangs, Effect [12] A:F, B:F/I, C:C/K *
  Claws, Effect [12] A:F, B:F/I, C:F/I **
  * All bite wounds contain the vampiric infection, which must be treated as a disease.
  ** Claw wounds are infected on an I result.

  Wounds

  B

  F

  F

  F

  I

  I

  I

  I

  I

  C

  C

  Equipment: Good clothing, coffin or grave, at least three alternative burial sites, £500 hidden in various locations, carriage or automobile.
  Quote: "You think that a mere cross is enough to stop me! Nyah ha ha!"
  Notes: This is an experienced vampire, growing in strength and power. It can mesmerise anyone it has bitten automatically; it can mesmerise anyone else by overcoming their SOUL with its own. It has 3D6 mesmerised humans and 1D6/2 lesser vampires under its control. It can create the illusion of a normal appearance, even in mirrors, and a roll of SOUL to overcome that of the vampire is needed to see through the illusion. It can be temporarily repelled by crosses and other religious symbols if they are backed by real faith, but will soon attack if there is any lapse in faith or concentration. It's harmed by daylight:

  	Effect	A	B	C
  Direct sunlight	2+1/round	F	F/I	I/C
  Thick cloud/window	1+1/2 rounds	F	F/I	I/C

• Count Dracula
  BODY [10], MIND [5], SOUL [8], Athlete (climb/run) [12], Brawling [12], Business [6], Linguist (English, Russian, French, Polish, German) [8]
  Fangs, Effect [12] A:F, B:F/I, C:C/K *
  Claws, Effect [12] A:F, B:F/I, C:F/I *
  * All bite wounds and claw wounds contain the vampiric infection, which must be treated as a disease.

  Wounds

  B

  F

  F

  F

  F

  I

  I

  I

  I

  I

  I

  C

  C

  C

  Equipment: Good clothing, coffin or grave, at least ten alternative burial sites, £5000 hidden in various locations, carriage or automobile.
  Quote: "I never drink... wine"
  Notes: Dracula is several hundred years old, and in full control of his powers. He can mesmerise anyone he has bitten automatically; he can mesmerise anyone else by overcoming their SOUL with his own - he can also use this attack to mesmerise groups, using his SOUL against the highest SOUL present plus the number of additional people he wishes to control. Once he has mesmerised someone he can read and influence their thoughts, from any distance, and can see and hear everything that they do. He has five mesmerised humans and three lesser vampires under his control, can control wolves and rats telepathically, and has an entire gypsy tribe helping him willingly. He can create the illusion of a normal appearance, even in mirrors, and a roll of SOUL to overcome that of the vampire is needed to see through the illusion. He can be temporarily repelled by crosses and other religious symbols if they are backed by real faith, but they will only hold him off for a round, while he hardens his resolve, then he can attack.

  Dracula is an extremely powerful vampire, with three unusual abilities:

  • He can appear to transform into bat, rat or wolf form; this takes a round, during which time he can do nothing else - as a bat he can fly, albeit slowly. He retains full BODY in these forms, and can attack with his full strength if he wishes to.
  • He can control the weather, summoning wind, rain, or mist - this can take several hours, since it is power that redirects natural forces rather than the abrupt creation of weather from nothing.
  • He can also transform to a cloud of thick white mist, and drift through any opening (such as a ventilation grille); transforming, moving, and transforming back to solid form each take a round. While in mist form he is totally invulnerable, but can't perform any sort of attack; he can stay in this form indefinitely, but after three rounds starts to lose 1 BODY per round; he can only recover it by drinking blood, until he does so reduce his combat skills and Effect accordingly.
  He takes relatively little harm from daylight:

  	Effect	A	B	C
  Direct sunlight *	1+1/2 rounds	F	F/I	F/I
  Thick cloud/window	1+1/3 rounds	F	F/I	F/I

  * Treat as Thick cloud/window if he is wearing dark glasses.

The Loch Ness Monster
A gigantic reptile nearly a hundred feet long, it appears to have no "supernatural" origin; it's just a big animal. There have been rumours of similar creatures in South America. So far only one has been killed, after it sank a paddle-steamer and knocked one of squadron Five's air-ships out of the sky as it hovered over the Loch. There have been several sightings since the creature was destroyed, but the monsters reported are much smaller and their behaviour seems to be shy rather than aggressive. Dissection of the monster that was killed showed that it had a brain tumour which may have made it unusually vicious. Currently the Hussars have no plans to resume operations against the smaller monsters, but the Zoological Society is planning to trawl for one.

• Loch Ness Monster
  BODY [30], MIND [1], SOUL [1], Athlete (swim) [22], Athlete (crawl) [5], Brawling [20]
  Fangs, Effect [22] A:I, B:C, C:K
  Head bash, Effect [30], A:C, B:C/K, C:K
  Tail bash, Effect [25], A:C/K, B:K, C:K
  Extremely thick scaly skin, -4 to all attacks

  Wounds

  B

  F

  F

  F

  F

  F

  I

  I

  I

  I

  C

  C

  Equipment: -
  Quote: "Roooogghhyhh" (VERY deep)
  Notes: A giant sea serpent in a freshwater variant. Extremely tough - it has thick scaly skin, and optionally heals as fast as a werewolf. While it normally prefers to live underwater, it can move on land (like a snake) if it has to but is slow. It can rear nearly fifty feet into the air, and raise its tail nearly as high. It can leap even higher, but must spend a round underwater first.

Ghosts
Ghosts exist, and in a few rare cases are hostile. There seems to be no obvious connection to other forms of the supernatural, and following some unsuccessful attempts to use military force against them it is generally accepted that they are a specialised problem, best left to "ghost detectives", exorcists, and other specialists. See FF III and FF IV for more on ghosts.

The sudden upsurge in werewolf activity has also been caused by Dracula. His powers can affect animals and the feeble-minded, and in their animal phase werewolves are easy prey. Although he doesn't think of it in such scientific terms, he is able to plant post-hypnotic suggestions which make their human forms find reasons to travel to Britain. Again the fiercest of these creatures have yet to arrive in Britain; compared to what is to come, the werewolves seen so far will seem like fluffy bunnies.

A side-effect of Dracula's power is the weakening of certain psychic barriers which protect our world from the supernatural. The upsurge in ghostly activity is the result. Dracula has no control over this, it's simply one of the things that happens when there are powerful vampires around.

Finally, Dracula has no power over the Loch Ness monsters; it's just an odd coincidence that one should become aggressive at this time. The remaining monsters aren't a threat to anyone unless disturbed - unfortunately the Zoological Society is planning to do exactly that...

Campaign Development

An Aerial Hussars campaign should begin with a