Pelican
The Pelican is an unarmed paper transport that carries up to six Paratroopers, circles its Port ready to deploy, and drops them onto any open ground on command.
Pelican
The Pelican is an unarmed transport flier. It carries up to 6 Paratroopers and exists to put them where they hurt most — behind a resource line, on top of a Palace, deep in the enemy rear. It flies over any terrain and is built at a Port, taking one of that Port’s eight aircraft slots.
The selection panel shows how many Paratroopers are riding inside — e.g. 🪂 Paratroopers aboard: 4 / 6.
As an advanced fold, the Pelican draws on Parchment, so you need a refined-goods economy — a Scriptorium or Printworks stocking Parchment, delivered by Pushers — to build one.
How it operates
A Pelican runs its own supply loop so you don’t have to babysit it:
- Loads at the Port. An empty Pelican flies home and takes on Paratroopers that have mustered beside the Port. It spends a mandatory few seconds on the ground, boards what it can, then takes off.
- Loiters ready. Once loaded it circles its Port, waiting for your drop order — on station, not idle.
- Refuels and refills on landing. When its fuel runs low it sets down on a Port pad to refuel, topping up its Paratroopers at the same time, then relaunches and resumes circling.
- Diverts when a Port is full. Each Port pads only two aircraft at once. If the nearest Port’s pads are busy, the Pelican heads for the next nearest Port instead of stacking up.
Paradrop
Deliver the cargo one of two ways:
- Action menu: select the Pelican, click 🪂 Paradrop, then click the spot to drop on — a sky-blue drop-zone ring follows your cursor.
- Right-click: right-click open ground with a loaded Pelican selected.
Each Paratrooper falls under a chute, firing at ground targets on the way down, and draws its sword on landing. Troopers you drop can re-muster at a Port and be picked up again for another run.
If a Pelican is shot down while loaded, half of its cargo bails out under chutes and half is lost with the wreck — so a defended approach costs you troops even when the drop half-succeeds.
Strategy
The Pelican is a scalpel, not a shield — it has no weapons and only moderate health, so it lives or dies on the approach. Route it around anti-air and enemy fliers, come in fast, and drop your Paratroopers onto a soft target before defenders can react. A full six-trooper drop onto an undefended economy or command building can end a game outright. If the air lane is contested, escort it with Planes or clear a path first; losing the Pelican mid-flight throws away half your elite squad.