Wing design question!

[hksherra]

So I'm working up the design for a DnD character that I'm going to be playing soon... but I can't figure out the right design for wings! The character is a genderless golem (but I'm gonna call it a he for simplicity's sake...) and he looks pretty much human except for a few strange things. He weighs somewhere between 300-1000+ pounds... haven't decided exactly how much yet.... but he is crazy heavy for his size. And... he needs wings!

His wings sprout out from the shoulder/back area and I was thinking they'd look somewhere bio-mechanical. I had a design going but then we decided to give him a skill that pretty much gives him perfect aerial maneuverability... turning on a dime, backwards and forwards flying, barrel rolls, the works. Then I figured that he would need a special shape of wing to be able to achieve that... The best I can think of is hummingbird wings or something more insectoid... My original thought was wings that would look somewhat Da Vinci-esque (like thems flying machines)....

But does anyone have any really cool and really creative ideas for strange wings? I might just give him energy wings instead, but I'd love something a bit more impressive. I'm looking mostly for a cool design... not necessarily in with the physics of it all...

Any interesting brain storms out there?

[Dray]

First off, he'd need massive things to keep him bouyant, with a weight like that. That means he'd need the support-powers of strong wing-limbs to support both the webbing/feathering /and/ the body in flight! Hydraulics might work for that, and would give you some pretty cool mechanical-looking wings in the mean-time.

Searching Hydraulic Arms on Google turns up some interesting images that might help. :)

Also, for that kind of maneuverability (XD Did I spell that right?) He'd need fairly short, stubby wings with high dexterity. Possibly a second set for stabilization, if you're looking to allow him to hover. In birds, looking at various kinds of Swallows will probably give you the wings you need. In bugs, dragonflies and other, similar insects are probably what you're looking for.

I think that some bats are suited, as well... look up the insect-eating varieties to see if there are differences in proportions from the fruit-eating ones, and you might be able to encorporate that.

Including some kind of hover-pack into your golem may help lift him, too, and may give him more of a reason to be able to perform stunts like that. Not so impressive, no, but it could do in a pinch!

I hope that helps!

[Shard]

I'd actually say give him hummingbird or dragonfly type wings. However he is terribly heavy, and generally speaking heavy things need a lot of propulsion to get them off the ground at all. Unless he's just got some magical way of lifting off (it IS a fantasy universe after all - you could just give him two feathers and say it's magic) he's not going to be explainably able to fly.

Unless he's Inspector Gadget.

[DragonFlight]

Legend of Dragoon!

D&D is made to be anti-physics! Use the 'hovering' technique the dragoons have. XD

Plus their wings are uber fun.

http://www.rpgdreamer.com/rpgworld/lod/lod94.jpg - Basic
http://www.rpgdreamer.com/rpgworld/lod/lod171.jpg - Another Good One
http://www.rpgdreamer.com/rpgworld/lod/lod69.jpg - This one shows how they fold and pivot and stuff.

XD

[Shard]

You can't direct-link to those images, sorry. Swipe em. lol.

[hksherra]

*cackles* Eee hee hee hee! I've gotten a few really neat new wing designs with all the input... thanks, everyone! If I ever decide on a final version maybe I'll upload it here...

Not that I wouldn't be quite happy to get more suggestions!

[DragonFlight]

Bah, I didn't check, my bad. Oh well, you can still find them through the base URL. :P

[Dray]

If you drag and drop your links into a new tab, or into the URL box, they work pretty good! >:D

Can't wait to see what you come up with, Sherra! ;P