Transport about Albion

Since the flood, transport about Albion has been forced to evolve quite rapidly. The horse and cart is now entirely impractical for travelling any distance except in the North and on the Isle of Wales. Instead, a variety of alternative transport methods have sprung up:

As soon as sections of Albion started to become isolated due to the rising floodwater, opportunists with boats began charging those who could afford it for transport. These boatmen were rapidly formed into the Guild of Navigators.

Any person wishing to travel around the Archipelago of Albion can generally assume that they'll be able to find a Guild Navigator for a relatively small price. Indeed, Navigators are generally happy to barter in place of cash payment—cinnamon and nutmeg are rapidly becoming a de facto replacement for coinage as a result of their ready acceptance by Guild Navigators.

Of course, some of the richer nobles still keep their own boats. This is primarily seen as a status symbol; it is rarely cheaper to own a boat than to pay a Navigator. There is naturally quite a high level of variation between the boats that can be seen on the rivers and waterways of Albion, both in terms of style and propulsion. Sails and oars are still the most common methods of powering vessels, but necessity has introduced numerous magical enhancements.

Of course, a private boat also provides a degree of privacy compared with Guild vessels (although players with sufficient rank/wealth would be able to afford an individual cabin). Additionally, it may take time to find a Guild ship in a hurry, whereas a private boat should be where you left it last…

Note that a boat suitable for travelling around the Archipelago of Albion would not be safe on the open wave, at least without some way of ensuring that the open waves are very small.

A bathyscape is essentially a simple small submarine, and is quite rare—to obtain one, you will need to enlist the aid of an inventor, or at least a highly trained tinkerer. The quality of the magic used will influence the speed and degree of control the user has over the vehicle.

Both dragons and gryphons can be used for transport. A large gryphon would be able to carry two people with a small amount of luggage, and a big enough dragon would be able to carry dozens of dragon riders. Granted, it's not the most comfortable mode of transport, but it looks damn stylish.

Whilst it is not possible to directly ride a sea serpent, it is certainly possible to enlist one to speed up your boat or Bathyscape.

Most gryphons, dragons and sea serpents are in The King's Own Horticulturalists, but there are a small number of independent creatures around Albion. Of course, once you've found a creature, there's still the small matter of convincing it to actually do what you want it to do.

Granted, this isn't the most popular method for nobles to travel, but commoners are frequently seen to be swimming across small rivers and channels. It has the primary advantage of being cheap, and the primary disadvantage of being cold. And wet. And very cold.

Magic provided many solutions to helping cities avoid the flood, one of which was to simply float the city in question. Canterbury floats around at the direction of the Archbishop of Canterbury—if the sinners won't go to the cathedral, the cathedral must go to the sinners. Similarly, Durham, complete with a new aerodynamic cathedral, floats several hundred feet above water, descending regularly to take on supplies.

It may be possible to obtain a lift from one of these cities. However you are unlikely to be able to have much control over where they go (although they very rarely leave the Archipelago).