How would magic interact with late TL5 naval warfare? & Campaign idea

[johndallman]

The 1866 Battle of Lissa is a good example of naval warfare at this TL, and shows how disastrous wilful player characters in charge of a fleet can be.

The naval part of the War of the Pacific was on a fairly small scale, but illustrated the unchanging parts of naval warfare.

The Battle of Santiago de Cuba is early TL6, without many of TL6's innovations, and is also worth a look.

Originally Posted by seasalt

Maybe throw in an aircraft carrier equivalent which serves as a hangar for dirigibles and/or a roost for flying beasts of war like dragons or griffins?

The beasts are actually easier to believe in. Dirigibles are really large and quite fragile. Getting them in and out of a hangar at sea, where there's always a wind and truly calm seas are very rare will be very hard, and accidents extremely destructive. A dirigible that can lift significant weaponry is larger than any sane ship.